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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Partner being at hospital when female friend gives birth, AIBU to hate it?

655 replies

BeetrootBrownies · 23/11/2025 22:40

Been with my partner for a year - the relationship relatively quickly and I moved into his home at 6 months. Partly because I was living with my parents at the time and needed to get away for my own sanity, but also because we were madly in love and felt ready. It’s been lovely.

He has a female friend called Mia. They met 4 years ago through a shared hobby. They bonded because they are both from the same home country and neither have family in the UK. They have never had a sexual relationship, DP is adamant about this and I believe him as she has been in the same relationship with another man (who we will call Josh) throughout her and DP’s friendship.

6 months ago (just before I moved in) I was at DP’s house having a quiet night in when he gets a voice note from Mia in a state asking if they can meet for lunch to next day for a catch-up. DP asked her what the problem was and she said she needed to vent about Josh, she insisted she wanted to meet in person before saying anymore because she had a lot to go over.

I went home the next day. Wasn’t particularly worried about their lunch together as I genuinely believe they’ve never had a sexual relationship and they very much have a brother/sister type relationship and she has been seen to make childish gagging/shuddering motions whenever he’s accidentally brushed passed her when we’ve been on double dates with her and Josh or even out for coffee just the 3 of us. She also likes me a lot and has been very excited and happy for DP throughout the development of our relationship. I was curious what she wanted to tell DP during the lunch but only from a place of nosiness rather than jealousy.

During this lunch Mia told DP that she was unexpectedly pregnant and Josh had been on board with it for a month before suddenly shitting himself and running a mile and moving back to the home country. Josh hasn’t been seen since other than half-hearted text responses every time she updates him about the pregnancy.

DP and Mia have continued their normal friendship routine throughout the pregnancy and meet up about once a week (she’s now on maternity leave and DP gets 3 days off a week so they get plenty of opportunity to meet up). Usually coffee shops or dinner. Sometimes I come, other times I don’t. DP has been moaning about the meet-ups lately saying that it is exhausting listening to her talk about pregnancy and issues with the baby’s father and he is struggling to relate. She’s also ask him to lend her money but he has shut that down. DP doesn’t want to take a step back from the friendship though as he does care about her. I can understand why she is in a state as I was present during a meet-up where she called the baby’s father and she put him on speakerphone to show us how awful he was being, he was indeed vile and she was in tears afterwards and I even ended up hugging her.

She’s now due to deliver in 2 weeks and DP knows all the details. Baby is big and she is a very small-build and she has been recommended a C-Section but she really wants to try for a natural birth unless it gets critical. She’s got an induction booked in to increase chances of her being able to deliver naturally. Given that she has no family or other friends, she wants DP present at the hospital. She has made it clear she doesn’t want him to see her pushing or the actual moment of birth, but she would like him present and on-hand to advocate her needs and support her during the labour. She is due to be induced on DP’s day off. She has no other family or friends and she said she is terrified to go through labour alone.

DP feels weirded out by it but says he can’t see how he can say no. DP says he thinks he is okay with it so long as he doesn’t see anything gruesome - the plan is he would leave the room once she starts pushing and come back a couple of hours after birth and see if she needs anything like food or practical items etc and meet the baby. Even though I have had no prior jealous feelings towards her, I feel this is just way too intimate. I know it sounds ridiculous but I want my DP’s first experience of supporting a woman through labour/childbirth to be with me when I have his baby in the future…does that make sense? I have visions of her grabbing his hand during contractions etc!

It’s all freaking me out a bit

OP posts:
mistyeveningponder · 27/11/2025 17:26

bigfacthunter · 27/11/2025 15:41

That’s absurd 🙄 Operations can take any length of time and can involve any sort of subsequent disability. The point I make is the exact same, she’s only asking about the birth at this point. Even if he supports her during birth he is not powerless to decline to support her with subsequent logistics. I maintain that it is because he is a man he gets off with it and I would argue that this is a huge huge part of what’s wrong with society. None of us know anything about this pregnant friend other than what OP has written so to make the assumption that she will demand he step into a permanent father role based on this one request is ridiculous (as is the widespread assumption that OPs boyfriend is too feckless or fragile to support his friend during her time of need).

No, this is absurd lol To think that she'll want him for the birth and then nothing else afterwards 🤣.

So naive - and how many of your friends in real life did you support to have surgery and then they expected you to be their part time carer as it caused a lifelong disability eh? not remotely the same as bringing up a child FGS

Otterdrunk · 27/11/2025 22:48

This is one of the few threads I’ve read when the male party has actually done & said the right thing! He hasn’t gaslit OP or made her feel bad for feeling uncomfortable about it all & has actually stepped up, addressed things & put boundaries in place - when so often, they just don’t & won’t. You might have yourself a keeper OP. How he’s handled this - ok it took him a while lol but kudos to him for doing what so many of these threads prove otherwise.

seafoamhair · 28/11/2025 00:07

bigfacthunter · 27/11/2025 15:41

That’s absurd 🙄 Operations can take any length of time and can involve any sort of subsequent disability. The point I make is the exact same, she’s only asking about the birth at this point. Even if he supports her during birth he is not powerless to decline to support her with subsequent logistics. I maintain that it is because he is a man he gets off with it and I would argue that this is a huge huge part of what’s wrong with society. None of us know anything about this pregnant friend other than what OP has written so to make the assumption that she will demand he step into a permanent father role based on this one request is ridiculous (as is the widespread assumption that OPs boyfriend is too feckless or fragile to support his friend during her time of need).

I would suggest her response to OP's partner explaining he was not comfortable in this role says quite a lot. I am gathering you don't read updates?

Hi all - today DP text Mia a very thorough message explaining that he is not comfortable being at the birth as he thinks he won’t be any use and he also can’t guarantee being available due to work commitments etc. He also made a comment to her that he feels at times like he is the baby’s father when she vents to him about pregnancy and he’s struggling to find the friendship enjoyable at the moment.

Her response was not so measured:

She responded and was angry saying she thought the friendship was worth more than this etc. she sent him a voice note shouting

Not the sort of cosy old "chum" thing you persist in imagining.

SheilaFentiman · 28/11/2025 00:38

How he’s handled this - ok it took him a while lol but kudos to him for doing what so many of these threads prove otherwise.

I am not sure it did - assuming that DP told OP the same day that she posted, he texted Mia within 24h of that first post. And stuff like breast pumps - well, we have all got a smidge bored of a friend obsessing over a topic - upcoming holiday, new job etc - and he might have been ok to stick that out for another couple of weeks, without the birth partner thing.

TheThingOnTheIce · 23/12/2025 20:50

@BeetrootBrownies how are things now the baby is here? Hope it all went well for her but that she hasn’t berated your partner any further for his decision ?

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