Once someone gets to later stages of a pregnancy, there tends to be a lot of planning about where to be and what to do before the due date. Normally, one tends to involve family or perhaps friends to help, since no one expects a pregnant woman, who is going into labor, to just drive herself to the hospital.
A woman asked the internet if she was being unreasonable for getting upset when her husband organized a trip with her mother-in-law without consulting her at all. The kicker? She is six months pregnant and way too close to her due date for the trip.
Going on vacation right before a pregnancy due date isn’t common behavior
Image credits: Vlada Karpovich / Pexels (not the actual photo)
But one woman learned her husband had organized a trip with his mother without telling her
Image credits: Nataliya Vaitkevich / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Kaboompics.com / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Crunchy7
Image credits: Viktoria Slowikowska / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Not consulting your spouse is generally a bad move
Reserving a vacation without conferring with a partner is irresponsible in any partnership, but when the wife is six months pregnant, it is especially inconsiderate. Pregnancy is both emotionally and physically taxing, and vacation plans involve not one but two individuals. A husband reserving a vacation without consulting his pregnant wife jeopardizes neglecting her needs, her health, and her right to input in decisions regarding her own well-being.
By six months of gestation, the second trimester has begun, a period in which energy tends to be volatile, comfort is more difficult to achieve, and health concerns become progressively more essential. Protracted air transport, extended car transport, or environments with insufficient easy access to healthcare can be significant barriers. A pregnant woman may also have dietary needs, physical limitations, or doctor’s advice that would in fact affect travel safety and even viability. Planning without her is to ignore those facts and treat her as a mere passenger rather than an equal partner.
Other than physical issues, there are emotional ones. Pregnancy also brings concern about the future, changes in the body, and the soon-to-be arrival of parenthood. Being left out of big decisions, specifically one as big as a vacation, can fuel that anxiety and leave a wife feeling left out. A unilateral husbandly planning in this case transmits a message, whether explicit or not, that her opinion counts less, or that secondarily she will be adjusted to.
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A successful marriage means being there for your partner
Partnership, especially during the expectant months, must be a practice of cooperation and respect. Every decision, no matter how big or small, is the foreplay for how the couple will function as parents. Asking each other permission to do things isn’t politeness, it’s rehearsal for the shared decision-making parenting will demand. A husband who disregards his wife’s views when she’s pregnant can unknowingly dismantle trust when she most needs reassurance and partnership.
There is also a symbolic meaning to this issue. Pregnancy has been described as a shared journey between both parents, yet in practice, the physical load is on the mother. Because of this imbalance, it is even more important that her partner be cooperative and thoughtful in everything related to her comfort and well-being. When the husband takes a trip without consulting, it can be seen as a display of indifference to that imbalance, as if the burdens of pregnancy do not exist or are minimal.
Being considerate in such a situation does not mean avoiding going anywhere. It means the wife is included in the decision-making, listening to her when she complains and planning according to what she feels safe and possible for her. A holiday is achievable, but it must be built on honest communication and joint decision. That is what transforms an insensitive action into a caring action.
Finally, going on vacation without checking with a six months pregnant wife is not just bad communication, it is an issue of undermining the value of partnership. Respect is an understanding that choices affect both of them, and her voice is particularly precious when her body is already doing the toughest task. A husband who does not see that may end up causing unnecessary tension and agony. A listening husband, who consults and includes her, encourages trust, love, and a more solid foundation upon which to build their family.
Some readers gave her a few suggestions
Others shared similar stories
A few recommended that she just go
While one still thought she should stay home
Readers also called out her family for their attitude
Later, she shared an update
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Crunchy7
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