Telling others about a pregnancy is usually a very exciting part of the whole baby-expecting experience. Sadly, some people tend to spoil it by doing or saying something stupid to those who announce the news.
Today's story is a great example of that -- a woman is trusted with the news about her daughter-in-law's early pregnancy and is asked not to tell anyone. Yet, a few days later, the couple learns that their whole town knows about this secret because of the man's blabbing mom.
More info: Reddit
What should you do when your secret gets spilled to basically everyone you know?
Image credits: Vlada Karpovich (not the actual photo)
A couple learned that they were expecting a baby and told the news to those dearest to them
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
They asked these people to keep it a secret for a while, as the pregnancy was in its early stage
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
One of those people was the dad-to-be's mom, who, after getting the news, went on to blab about it to the entire small town
Image credits: u/ThrowRA_234767238
The couple was insulted that she didn't take their secrecy request seriously and wondered whether they should confront her about it
The OP and her partner recently got pregnant. Since they haven’t reached the “safe” pregnancy point, they only revealed the news to those dearest to them.
Typically, this “safe” period starts around the 12th week of pregnancy. The first trimester is regarded as unsafe to announce the news because around 80% of miscarriages occur during this period, especially within the first 10 weeks.
Pregnancy loss during the first 12 weeks can happen due to a variety of reasons. For instance, there could be some underlying issues in the mom’s health, fetal chromosome problems caused at conception, or struggles with placenta development. It should be noted that this list isn’t extensive, and there could be many other reasons.
So, since there is this risk, many choose not to announce the news right after getting a positive pregnancy test. Usually, it’s simply because they don’t really want to experience a miscarriage publicly.
Today’s couple are some of these people. Kind of. They didn’t fully keep the secret to themselves, as they told some people. And sadly, they soon came to regret it. Within a few days of revealing the news, they started getting messages from random people in their small town asking if it was true. It became apparent that someone leaked the news.
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
Turns out, it was the man’s mom who told at least 4 people and ordered them to keep it a secret, yet they didn’t do that. So, the whole small town knew, and the joy of announcing the news was taken away from the couple.
And not only that. Now, if the worst happens and the woman miscarries, they will have to deal with it publicly. If pregnancy loss itself isn’t bad enough, it not only affects the woman’s body but even more so her mental health. It can break the sense of self-trust and can wreck the way a woman views her body. She can also feel guilty, angry, disappointed, and many other emotions. Overall, a miscarriage is a terrible thing to go through for anyone, and it’s even harder to do when everyone knows it’s happening to you.
So, it’s natural that the couple feel betrayed. That’s why they came on Reddit to ask what they should do – confront her, don’t say anything, or do something else?
Many people there told the couple that they don’t have to confront the mother-in-law if they don’t want to. But, they also pointed out that from this point on, they shouldn’t trust her with secret information, as she proved that she can't be trusted.
Well, if the couple takes netizens’ advice and doesn't tell the MIL any other secrets, hopefully, they’ll be good. The sad thing is that if they do that, the man and his mom’s relationship is bound to take a hit. On the other hand, her blabbing his secrets isn’t helping it, either. So, it's kind of a tricky situation, isn’t it?
People online told them that they don't need to confront her if that makes them uncomfortable, but they shouldn't tell her their secrets from now on
