Pregnant Woman Disappoints Dad by Not Accepting Stepmom’s 'Creepy and Invasive' Gift: 'My Father’s Reaction Is Freaking Me Out'

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock photo of a pregnant woman looking upset while holding a gift.Photo:Getty

Getty

Writing on Reddit’s popular"Am I the A——?“forum, the mom-to-be explained that her father and his girlfriend were left upset after she refused what she deemed to be an inappropriate gift.

The woman said she is expecting her first child in February and her entire family is “very excited” because it will be the first grandchild in the family.

She added that she has an “okay relationship” with her father’s girlfriend, whom she gave the pseudonym Lena.

“I don’t like most of the things she likes and vice versa,” the woman wrote. “There’s no bad blood between us, but she can be a bit pushy sometimes, so we’re not exactly close.”

Stock photo of a pregnant woman looking upset while sitting on a bed.Getty

When Christmas rolled around, Lena gave her an envelope that contained a videographer’s business card and said she planned on hiring them to film her birth. The gift surprised the woman as she didn’t want her birth filmed and didn’t want anybody except her husband with her at the hospital.

As the woman was at a family function, she thanked Lena for the card and moved on.

Her and her husband mentioned the gift later while at lunch with Lena and her father, during which she told them she “appreciated the gesture” but “didn’t feel comfortable with a videographer” at her birth.

The pregnant woman told Lena that she didn’t need to get her another Christmas gift, but she would “appreciate it if she didn’t hire” the videographer.

When Lena started to cry and accuse her of passing “on the opportunity of creating such a ‘beautiful memento’ of my child’s birth,” the pregnant woman replied that she found the idea to be “creepy and invasive and that this wasn’t the first time I expressed I was uncomfortable with it.”

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The woman said it was her father’s reaction that shocked her the most.

“My father said that it was rude of me to say that and refuse the gift, and he’s ‘very disappointed’ in me,” she wrote. “My husband agrees with me, as does pretty much my whole family. I don’t really think I did anything wrong, but my father’s reaction is freaking me out.”

“Birth is a deeply personal experience, and you’ve been clear about your boundaries,” one person wrote. “Lena’s gift ignored that and it’s not rude to say no to something invasive. Your comfort and privacy come first, not her feelings,” they added.

Another advised the woman not to let Lena and her dad know when she goes into labor. “I can see Lena whipping out her phone, and if your dad don’t got your back during a moment that is purely yours and your husband’s, then he can wait outside too,” they wrote.

source: people.com