It’s no secret that we don’t all like the same things, and we inevitably won’t enjoy talking about or hearing about the same things, either.
But that doesn’t mean we should rain on someone else’s parade, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor 3hjaf didn’t totally agree, however, as she chose to make an unfunny joke toward her coworker who had recently become a mother.
When the mom didn’t appreciate it, the Original Poster (OP) wondered if she’d done something wrong.
They asked the sub:
“AITA for telling a woman with a newborn, ‘A dog can give birth, too’?”
The OP was done hearing about their coworker’s new baby.
“So there’s this woman I work with who gave birth 2 months ago, and she’s constantly bragging about it.”
“I’m not kidding you when I say she talks about her pregnancy experience and her newborn every single day.”
The OP decided to speak up.
“The other day she was (once again) talking about how many hours she was in labor and how hard it is being a mom.”
“I jokingly said, ‘You know, a dog can give birth, too.'”
The coworker did not like it.
“She didn’t find it funny at all, and she has given me the cold shoulder for the past couple of days.”
“I kinda feel bad about it, but I just got tired of it.”
“I’m a woman, too, if that makes it any better.”
“AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some said the OP could afford more empathy than she was showing.
“YTA, you said something amiss.”
“You disparaged her in front of her co-workers. You could have left the conversation if you didn’t want to hear about her baby. You tried to diss her by showing that it’s not a big deal, which is mean.
“It’s the origin of her excitement and she’s allowed to talk about it, to your dismay.” – Gold_Glimmer
“I honestly feel like giving birth is just something we take for granted. Like well,, women have been doing it since the dawn of humanity, so what’s the big deal?”
“Well, the big deal is that it’s dangerous, painful, and can come with a lot of other issues. Pushing a baby out of your vagina may be something lots of people and animals can do, but it’s still a big deal for the person going through it!”
“I did it once and, while my kid is worth it, I decided never again.” – prettyorganist
“YES, newborns are difficult. Motherhood is challenging. I get that you were tired of repeatedly hearing her mom-related talking, but she has been through a massive milestone in her life by becoming a mom for the first time.”
“It occupies her mind, she is excited, she’s stressed, she’s adapting to her new life. It means that she has a plethora of things to talk, ask, tell and hear about.”
“It’s not bragging, it’s plain excitement. And more importantly, it doesn’t harm you in any way.”
“You shouldn’t have compared her to a dog, it interprets like she did something beastly and simple. You’re downplaying her difficulties and belittling her exciting experience.” – Compensate1995
“She just had a baby and is already back to work. Probably immensely struggling to be away from her baby. It’s awful.”
“My daughter is 6 months and I can’t stand being back to work.”
“I work part-time, and I’m so grateful that I can, but it’s absolutely insanity to think so many women don’t get much needed time with their babies.” – specialkk77
“I swore I wouldn’t be one of those mothers who only talks about her baby. My baby is four months old and she’s all I’ve got going on lol (laughing out loud).”
“Newborns are needy and I spend all my time taking care of her. There’s nothing else for me to talk about right now.”
“I’m sure I’ll get back to feeling like my own person as she gets older, but right now, I’m going to talk about this cute person I made.” – sheworksforfudge
“OP never mentions who she was actually talking to. Was she repeatedly telling them things after they told her they were busy/tried to redirect the conversation to something else?”
“Or was she just talking about her life with other colleagues who were also moms with similar experiences and/or were interested to hear about her and the baby?”
“People like to talk about the most relevant things in their lives, and that may be boring to someone who doesn’t have these experiences.”
“My friends and I constantly talked about college and lessons and the professors and obviously, we were interested in the conversation or we wouldn’t be having it. An outsider would probably be bored.”
“Just walk away. Don’t be an AH.” – RegularStatus5
Others said a dog would, ironically and awfully, be treated better than the coworker.
“Some dog breeders won’t even separate the pups from their mom until 12-weeks-old. This lady is at 8 weeks.” – dailysunshineKO
“My breeder refused to let the puppies leave before 10 weeks, for full pup-dog social development and so that she could socialize the puppies to new experiences properly.”
“That litter of puppies had more time with their mother than this poor woman had with her kids. That is so, so sad.” – gottabekittensme
“8 WEEKS. God, no wonder this woman is talking about her birth experience, it happened 8 weeks ago.”
“She’s still healing, she’s still feeling the physical effects of giving birth and having a newborn, she’s likely getting almost no sleep, and she also has the emotional difficulties of leaving for work every day when every part of her is missing the baby.”
“Maybe somebody should remind OP that when dogs give birth they at least get to stay with their babies for 8 whole weeks, unlike this woman who is already back to work long enough to be annoying OP with talking about the most important thing going on in her life.” – Bananapanda123
“It’s f**king cruel that this is the reality. I’m so sad for this poor woman, and I hope she ignores op and continues to talk about her baby! OP seems like a nasty rude person!” – specialkk77
“YTA. My wife spent 5 months in pain and nausea to have a stillborn birth. Pregnancies are hard. Labor is hard.”
“It isn’t the same as a dog in labor. You’re the as**hole. I’m surprised you weren’t Sent to HR (Human Resources) and fired.” – Buymydebt
“YTA, f**king h**l. A newborn baby is a huge commitment and eats up most of your time. Never mind that pregnancy is a long-term experience that greatly affects your body/mind/life.”
“I can understand getting annoyed at someone only talking about one thing for an extended period of time, but it’s clear you’ve put no time into understanding what a huge thing giving birth to a child is.”
“Also, most animals have a relatively painless birth compared to humans, due to the fact that we became bipedal, our hips got slimmer and births became WAYYYY more painful and deadly.”
“Yeah, a dog can give birth, but it will be a much easier experience than an hours-long labor for a human. Carrying a baby and giving birth is a f**king achievement for anyone to go through, she deserves to brag about it.”
“In short, you don’t know what the f**k you’re talking about.” – joobgoob
The OP may have claimed that she was joking with her coworker, but the subReddit did not think it was funny at all.
Not only was the OP not showing any empathy for a new mother who had gone through a life-changing event and had to go right back to work, but honestly, showing a little kindness and patience shouldn’t be that hard.