What to Know
If you’ve ever side-eyed a man in the delivery room and thought, Sir, sit down, you’re going to love this viral TikTok from a labor and delivery nurse who’s spilling her top five “icks” from male partners during childbirth.
And to be clear: this isn’t about dads being nervous, squeamish, or even accidentally saying something dumb in a stress spiral — we’ve all been there. It’s about the specific brand of behavior that takes a birth experience that’s already intense, vulnerable, and painful… and somehow makes it about him.
The video begins as a stitch, answering a prompt from a fellow labor and delivery nurse who crowdsources others in the profession with, “If you work in labor and delivery, has it made you hate men?”
And the short answer is a resounding yes.
“After a decade in labor and delivery, I have seen and heard some partners/husbands/boyfriends say and do some utter shenanigans while their partner is in labor,” TikTok user @lauren_thelabornurse says.
Some examples of her “icks” include but are not limited to: Partners who can’t stand up for their laboring partners in terms of visitors—because after awhile, you just want everyone to leave. Next on the list is “selective hearing” partners. You know the ones. They’re sawing logs while their partner is sobbing hysterically postpartum because of *gestures widely* everything.
“That is not gonna fly for me,” she says. “That is when I will walk over there and ‘accidentally’ kick the ever-living shit out of him.”
It’s the entitlement, the complaining, the lack of situational awareness with these guys, both pre and post-labor.
There are also the delivery-room classics: sitting in a chair scrolling while she’s in active labor, playing video games to pass the time, etc. Or just pretending their entire lives didn’t just radically change by the addition of a tiny human they have to take care of.
Topping the list at number two is what Lauren calls a “generalized whiner.” LOL. Men who meet this criteria are probably those who complain about the couch/chair they have to sleep on in the hospital while their partners are literally birthing human beings.
Her number one ick? Partners who make everything sexual.
“It’s not funny. It’s weird.” Don’t even get me started on that “extra stitch” comment, because I’ll wind up in jail for manslaughter.
The reason this TikTok is resonating so hard is because it’s saying what a lot of moms wanted to say in the moment but didn’t have the energy to. Labor is not a spectator sport. It’s not a place for ego, judgment, criticism, or performance. It’s definitely not a place for your PlayStation 5. So sack up, guys, and show everyone you’re a good husband and dad.
