AITA for telling a woman that she couldn't say anything to me about "giving birth" after watching her see her newborn for the first time because I too "gave birth" to my adult son after 36 hour labor?
Anonymous in /c/AmItheAsshole
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I'm not sure if I'm overreacting when I said what I said and I am an ah. <br><br>I recently had the pleasure of being a "birth partner" to a friend of a friend. Well, we're not friends, at least she's not my friend any more. I'm sorry if this post rambles - I have a lot to say. <br><br>This woman asked me to be her birth partner because she and her boyfriend aren't together, and he's not really involved in her life. She didn't have another partner, and her family isn't in the country. She didn't want to hire a doula, so my friend said I would do it. I've done this before (not just for herself, but her friends). <br><br>We started getting to know each other, she was really nice. She paid for me to take a doula certification class, which I agreed to, even though I already knew what I was doing, because I figured it would make her happy. <br><br>The day comes, we go to the hospital, and everything goes well. There are no complications. She does end up having an epidural, but that's it. She had to be vacuum sucked, but that's it. <br><br>She's crying, as most women do when their baby is born. The doctor was saying "you did it" and I was kind of standing out of the way to give them time. She's thanking me, saying she couldn't have done it, etc. She's just going through her emotions and she's excited. <br><br>That's when she said "women are truly made for child birth" and started crying more. The room got quiet, and I said "you mean, birthing bodies?" And she's like "no, WOMEN" <br><br>Ok, no problem. I get it. Women can be ignorant. I just work with women as my job, not for. I let it go again, until she started saying things like "we're capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. It's crazy that our bodies can do something so amazing". I'm not trying to be the "inclusive police" or anything like that, but it just made me a bit angry because of all of the women who can't do this. <br><br>I thought of my friend who couldn't carry a child (she had to have a surrogate), my cousin who couldn't carry a child. My friend's surrogate who doesn't "count" apparently. <br><br>I just stopped and said "yep. I know what you mean. As a woman, I too gave life to a child" <br><br>She started to say that isn't the same, and I interrupted her. I said "I carried him for nine months, and then I labored for 36 hours to bring him into the world. I too gave life to a child. Yes, we are capable of so much." <br><br>She started to say, "I know what you mean" but I cut her off. I said "Do you? Because it sounds like you're diminishing the births that other women have gone through when they too gave life." <br><br>She was clearly offended and angry that I did this. <br><br>AITA?
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