Everyone gets a little touchy when their body changes during pregnancy. Weight gain, stretch marks, enlarged breasts; for some women these bodily changes can really mess with how they feel about themselves. But what if it these insecurities weren't just something you saw yourself, but were being highlighted — loudly and pointedly — by a family member? That's what one Reddit user says she's dealing with in a post about how her mother-in-law won't stop criticizing her weight, both during and post-pregnancy.
User Chimom315 writes that her MIL is obsessed with criticizing her body and asking her if she plans to drop weight.
"2 weeks after my son was born, she called to ask if I had 'dropped any of that baby weight yet,'" she writes. And if that weren't bad enough, the woman says her MIL wasn't even around to help out with new son.
"Mind you, my husband was deployed for 5 months of my pregnancy and we lived 1000 miles away. During those 5 months, I received 0 phone calls from her. Not one," she angrily vents.
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And though this mom lost weight five months after her son was born, she says a recent weight fluctuation has caused new problems.
"You used to be a size zero but you aren't anymore," her MIL supposedly said after she gained a few pounds. "I was going to give you this shirt but I don't think you'd fit into it."
Seriously??
Understandably, most users found this behavior incredulous and unspeakably mean. Some even wondered why the OP's husband hadn't gotten involved.
"My husband and I are currently struggling to find common ground with this," she revealed in her post.
Let me repeat: her husband won't side with her, and her MIL has UPPED . HER . GAME.
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Luckily, the good people of Reddit were willing to offer their comfort and advice.
"Now is the time to shut it down," one wrote. "… Next time she comments, just say it's not up for discussion. Do not engage.
Or, another user writes, why not call her on her BS?
Tell her she should know better, they said.
Of course one shouldn't really tell off their MIL, but can we offer this helpful gesture for the next time she starts to put her DIL down?
Hey Mother-in-law (and anyone else who dares to criticize a woman's body), body-shaming is no joke. Please do better.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
