A man who missed the birth of his daughter says he regrets leaving the hospital despite being told he had time to do so.
The proud parent welcomed a baby girl with his fiancé at the beginning of 2022. Unfortunately, he missed his child's birth after he went home and collected his partner's 'comfort items'.
A year one, he still regrets his decision to leave her side and the parent has been criticised for doing so. However, several people were quick to defend the dad when he shared his remorse online.
In a heartbreaking post on Reddit, the dad confessed feeling like a failure because of his decision, even though he followed the advice he was given.
"When my fiancé went into labour we rushed her to the hospital and when she was being taken in I was told to wait outside and then was told to go home as they thought the birth was going to take hours," his post explained. In fact, 'it ended up only taking minutes'.
He was called back to the hospital for the birth, but he 'missed it on the way there'. The doting dad then met his daughter for the first time 'on a phone screen' and sent his fiancé messages of support via text. "For context, I was not able to be by her side due to covid 19 restrictions the hospital still had in place in early 2022," his post clarified.
Despite this, he could not help but compare himself to other new parents in his life. "My cousin refused to leave his girlfriends side recently and was present throughout the whole birth process," wrote the dad. "I know my daughter is here now and I love her more than anything I just wish I could have been there to support my fiancé and be present for the birth."
Thankfully, most commenters were quick to comfort the dad, who returned to the hospital as soon as he could carrying snacks, blankets and comfort items. While one 'controversial' response suggested the father should have waited in his car nearby, the rest of the replies praised the dad.
One person said: "It wasn't your fault you missed the birth. You wanted to be there but you missed it for reasons beyond your control. You can't do anything to change the past, so the best thing you can do now is to be there for them in the future."
Another pointed out: "You were respecting the rules and guidelines that the hospital had in place due to the covid restrictions. I'm sure the staff were grateful that you were willing to work with them instead of being demanding." Meanwhile, a third answered: "You did as you were advised. You're no less a parent for not being there."
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