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Grandmas Invade Hospital
One woman’s essay about crashing the birth of her grandchild has left some people really peeved (myself included).
When I read about the Canadian grandmother that crashed her granddaughter’s birth, I found myself getting really annoyed. And I’m not the only one.
Grandma Rhona Bennett’s essay in Toronto’s Globe and Mail about rejecting her son’s wishes and arriving just after his wife’s C-section (not to mention getting to hold the baby while her daughter-in-law was still in recovery) has caused an influx of angry comments on the newspaper’s site.
Bennett (along with her daughter-in-law’s mother) simply didn’t want to wait for the phone call that the baby had arrived. So the two hopped on a train to Montreal, and before you can say “boundary issues,” both were in the recovery room. No word on whether the new mom was still being stitched up when the grandmas burst through the door.
As a brand-new mom (my son was born just last week!), I can attest that those first few moments you and your spouse have with your newborn are precious—and private. And while you’re overjoyed, you’re also completely wiped out. I can’t imagine what I would have done if my MIL had shown up minutes after my delivery. Well, since there’s no way I could have gotten off the table, all I could have done would be to shoot her dirty looks. But trust me, she’d get the message!
Do you agree Barrett was out of line, or am I just being overly-sensitive (then let’s just blame the hormones)? Sound off below.
—Linda DiProperzio
Yeah, that's not cool. Not even a little. Family members need to respect boundaries, especially with something as personal as a birth.
Ooo... while I don't necessarily think she was acting with malicious intent, I think grammy was way out of line with this one. Grandmas do in fact have different rights than other family members, but this one went too far. This is where mother-in-law/daughter-in-law issues arise. Yeesh.
I totally agree that Barrett was out of line. If you did all the work of giving birth to that baby DARN RIGHT you have the right to dictate when they can see them. I probably would have thrown whatever I could grab.