Taking care of a newborn is a lot of work, and postpartum moms have to do it all while also looking after their mental health. Even with family support, it can be a tough situation to handle, which is why some new mothers might even cave under the pressure.
This is what a woman realized after her postpartum sister rudely accused her of wanting to steal her baby and told their whole family about her “suspicions.” The woman was shocked when her sister later had the audacity to ask her to babysit the newborn.
More info: Reddit
New moms might struggle with their mental health in the first few months after pregnancy, which is why they need support and care from loved ones
Image credits: shurkin_son / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster shared that her sister had her first baby two months back, but that she was still struggling to get enough sleep and manage everything
Image credits: Silga Be / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The sister ended up telling their whole family that the poster was obsessed with her newborn, as she didn’t have kids of her own
Image credits: Ksenia Ershova / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Despite telling everyone that the poster wanted to kidnap her child, the woman still asked her sister to babysit, as she needed a break
Image credits: Embarrassed-Slice890
The poster refused to babysit for her sister after the lies she had spread, but her family accused her of holding a grudge against her struggling sibling
It’s clear that the OP’s sister was finding it tough to look after her health while also caring for a newborn. She was not getting enough sleep and also seemed overworked with all the new responsibilities she had to handle. Her sister realized that things were tough for her, which is why she also tried to help out whenever she could.
This is something that many new moms experience in the first few months of having a baby, and research shows that they might be sleep-deprived and also anxious about their ability to manage it all. Since there are so many new things to learn about their baby on the go, many postpartum mothers might feel like they’re constantly juggling too many tasks and too much information.
All of these changes in the sister’s life were obviously getting to her, and she began taking it out on the poster. It started with a few comments about how the OP apparently stared at the baby too much, asked too many questions, and seemed to be obsessed with the newborn, as she had no kids.
Even though the poster had done none of the things that her sister described, the other woman kept feeding into her lies. According to experts, postpartum moms might experience unwanted and intrusive thoughts about their baby, themselves, or the people around them. This is probably what was happening to the OP’s sister, which is why she was making such absurd claims.
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Despite essentially accusing the OP of wanting to steal her baby away, the new mom ended up calling her crying, begging for help with babysitting. She did not seem to realize how much pain her actions had caused her sister, and kept demanding the poster help her out without even giving her an apology.
These kinds of extreme shifts in emotion and possible delusions might also signal that a new mom is dealing with postpartum psychosis. Medical professionals state that this is a serious illness wherein a person might have fears, thoughts, or suspicions about things that are not likely to be true.
That’s why doctors advise family members to be on the lookout for concerning behavior from postpartum mothers and to seek professional mental health help for them immediately. Loved ones should also help out with overwhelming tasks like household chores, errands, or cooking that might be difficult for the new mom to manage.
Unfortunately, in this case, it seems like the poster’s sister didn’t have much support and that her family was enabling her odd behavior. Hopefully, the OP taking a stand against this makes people question what’s going on, and they'll seek help for the new mom, who clearly seems to be going through a lot.
What do you think might be going on in this situation, and do you think the OP was wrong to refuse to babysit her sister’s kid? We’d love to hear your opinion on this story.
Most people sided with the poster, and they told her to get help for her sister
