Man’s Video Of His Exhausted Wife Who Fell Asleep While Feeding Their Baby Stirs Debate
Why didn't he help her?
TikTok A father’s video of his wife and child has sparked a heated debate about gender imbalances in parenting.
A video that was originally shared on TikTok has now been reposted on Reddit where viewers are expressing outrage at the lack of sympathy the man is showing his wife.
The video shows an exhausted mom sleeping while feeding her baby.
The mom appears to have fallen asleep in the middle of a bottle feed. She is sitting in bed with her head slumped over, clearly exhausted.
Her hand remains in the position to feed her baby and she is still holding the almost-empty bottle but the baby is now wriggling in her mom’s arms and can’t reach the bottle because the mom appears to have been unable to hold her arm up any longer.
The scene is likely relatable for a lot of mothers.
So many post-partum mothers have experienced feeling unable to stay awake while trying to care for an infant.
As the father leans in, we get a glimpse of the sleep-deprived mother with her eyes shut before he aggressively shakes her awake and she immediately, as if on autopilot, returns her focus to feeding her baby.
The father who posted the video is now being criticized.
The video was likely filmed in jest and we don’t know enough about this family to make judgments but that hasn’t stopped a debate from ensuing in response to the TikTok.
“So let’s talk about this,” begins a Reddit post that shared the video and asked for reactions.
“Sleep deprived mother, passed out from exhaustion, while her husband films [the] encounter for likes on TikTok instead of feeding his daughter and letting her sleep.”
“Why did [he] feel the need to do this and why can’t postpartum mothers get a break?”
In the comments, many shared their harsh thoughts about the father and recalled times when they were in a similar situation to this woman.
“I fell asleep nursing my daughter a couple of times. Usually in the middle of the night,” shared one woman.
Others criticized the father for not intervening, particularly since the baby could have been injured due to the position she was in.
“Guys like that will brag about being a good dad while talking sh-t about the mom and what she's lacking while they pretend to parent,” said another user.
The debate called out the unequal way in which parenting often becomes a burden women have to carry either alone or with very little help.
Parenting is a two-person job, something many Reddit users pointed out, and when one parent is visibly exhausted, the other parent has the responsibility to step up – not start filming!
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.