Man who missed his child's birth for friend's emergency gets a reality check online

One of the most important milestones of a person's life is witnessing the first cries of their newborn child. But for some dads, work hassles might prevent them from being there for their wives during childbirth. One particular dad who goes by u/firiedad on Reddit missed his first child's birth, though he could have taken the chance to rush out of work. Being a firefighter, the new dad was late to meet his newborn because he prioritized his colleague's emergency over his. When his frustrated wife started rethinking their relationship, he wondered if her reaction was justified, but the internet talked some sense into him.

In the 5-year-old post, the firefighter mentioned that he and his wife had tough experiences with conceiving and childbirth previously. "We've had a rough few years with 2 miscarriages and a stillbirth at 37 weeks. So my wife was terrified this whole pregnancy," he pointed out. When his wife went into labor before the birth of his first child, he was on duty. "Her doctor said that it would likely be a while, so I decided to stay at the base for a little longer because it is about mayhem and we're never enough people anyway," the firefighter explained. During his wait, his colleague received an emergency call that her grandfather had a heart attack and only had a little time left.

At the same time, the firefighters were called upon to attend to a fire in their area and the captain couldn't let both firefighters go. "I told my colleague not to worry. She should go and spend time with her grandfather since it would be her last chance. So I had to go out and I missed the birth of my child," he said. When he went nearly 2 hours after his baby girl was born, he immediately apologized to his wife. "She just yelled at me, said I let her down in the scariest moment of her life and then told me to leave. So I left and waited in the hallway," he added.

The wife continued to be cold towards her husband and chose to go to her sister's place instead after getting discharged from the hospital. She was still contemplating "what to do about our relationship or what's left of it." The husband sought the internet's help, asking if his wife's reactions were justified. "I understand that it must have been scary for her, but my reasoning is that only one of us could leave and I will have a whole life to be with my child, whereas my mate only had a few hours left with her loved one," he said in the end.

"Your wife had a stillbirth at 37 weeks. Being in labor again would've been ten times scarier for her. You chose your friend over her when she needed you more than she probably ever has," said u/pinlets. "Being there for labor/birth is for your wife, not the baby. You will have the rest of your life to spend time with your child, but you'll never have another chance to be a part of the birth of your child and provide support for your wife," noted u/SoftCommittee. "You let your wife go through childbirth alone after all that she's been through to do a favor for another woman," added u/bossymomma29. "From all the responses, I can see that clearly, I screwed up. I'll try to apologize again and if she forgives me, I'll try to be a better husband in the future," the firefighter added in a comment.