Ask Dr. Helen: Do Husbands Owe Wives Post-Childbirth ‘Push Presents?’
The thought of a gift never crossed my mind when we had our children. We were too caught up in the moment, and I was too exhausted. Frankly, after labor all I wanted was a Big Mac hamburger.
Women who demand push presents are the same women who complain that their husbands aren’t good enough, like that foul woman at Newsweek who wrote a long article two weeks ago about how to handle husbands. They’re high maintenance, selfish women who constantly demand gifts and attention and whose husbands never, in their minds, measure up. How could they?
Sure it hurts like heck to have babies. If it didn’t we wouldn’t appreciate them nearly as much. But I would think the first thing on most reasonable mothers’ minds would be that the baby is healthy and the last thing would be a payment for giving birth.
Many husbands are overwhelmed seeing what their wives have gone through, and it doesn’t surprise me that some feel they need to give their wives a present. It’s the women who hear those stories and demand similar “gifts” before giving birth that turn this into a new trend/extortion.
