A man has sparked fury online after saying he expects his wife to do chores while pumping breast milk because he wants to rest.
Taking to Reddit's Am I The A**hole forum, the unknown man asked if it was reasonable to expect his wife to do chores while pumping so he could relax after work — despite her finding it painful.
In the controversial post, he explained he works long hours and wants to relax when he gets home but that his wife asks him to look after their child for "an hour".
He wrote: "My wife is a SAHM and I work long hours. When I get home, I just want to take a break for a little bit before helping out.
"Every day I get back, she immediately throws our baby at me and tells me to watch him while she goes breast pumps and watches Korean drama for like an hour."
He told Redditors he'd bought a portable pump so she "wasn't stuck in one position" and could do chores while pumping and even claimed that was lying about being in pain "to justify a break".
"I got her one of those portable pumps (willow, no tubing, fits in the bra) so she’s not stuck to one position while pumping," he continued.
"She says she can’t do chores or baby care because pumping is painful and she needs to do something she enjoys to get her mind off the pain or else she can’t get enough milk during that session.
"I told her I didn’t believe it and she was using pumping and milk production as an excuse to take a break and get away for an hour.
"There are days I only have six hours off between shifts but instead of sleeping, I have to watch our baby for an hour and it results in me only getting five hours of sleep for several nights."
He later added that he was unsure if his wife had lied about being in pain because "she felt guilty asking me to give up an hour of sleep."
More than 1,400 comments have been left on the post — and the man did not get the response he was looking for.
The most up-voted comment reads: "YTA pumping is so damn hard. It’s painful and if you can’t relax the milk won’t come."
Another user responded, saying: "Yes this! I was seriously offended that he was acting like she was lying. What kind of relationship is that where your partner second guesses you when you say something are you say how you’re feeling?"
"YTA. You have to watch your kid for ONE HOUR out of the day, and that’s not even to let your wife go out or have time to herself - it’s literally so she can get another chore done," another said.
The user also posted in the ExlusivelyPumping subreddit asking 'is it true you have to relax to breast pump well?' but has since removed the message.
