Emily Duprie
A mother has gone viral on TikTok for her controversial take on childbirth. Tiktoker @shelbielenora boldly stated that if it came to the decision of who to save in a life-threatening delivery room situation, she would advocate for herself over her baby. As expected, Shelbie’s completely hypothetical opinion on the topic ensued some serious debate among viewers.
The TikToker had simply been responding to a video of the opposing side of the argument. The mother in Shelbie’s counter-video stated that she would rather the doctors save her baby instead of her if the choice arose. As discussed to its threshold, the choice should be the mother’s to make.
Having four children of her own, Shelbie’s argument was that she was obligated to return home to her already present kids, no matter the costs. In the text overlay of her video, Shelbie made a fair point. She wrote, “I have babies at home that need me.”
Leaving children without a mother is never an ideal situation, and having to leave four behind is even greater a risk. Though the conversation is controversial, one can’t argue that having an active mother is an important factor in a healthy childhood. With this in mind, Shelbie told Newsweek, “When I had my first child my answer would have been to save my baby, but now as a mother of four I have to make it home to my children.”
The debate on whether to save the mother or the baby received over 2 million views.
The viral video brought forth a plethora of mothers who wanted to weigh in on the topic. Some strongly disagreed with Shelbie, going as far as to call her “selfish.” Others, however, were grateful to the TikToker for speaking out on such a sensitive topic. Some who showed their support mentioned that they were ashamed of feeling the same way.
Societal pressures have forced some women into believing that saving themselves over a newborn is the only option. Needless to say, having to make a choice between saving a mother or her baby is never an easy discussion. In her interview with Newsweek, Shelbie added,
“I knew I would get different points of view from people, I’ll just never understand the need to be so nasty when you disagree about a topic. It truly does seem that if you look through the comments, many people agree with me and are glad I spoke up about it, as it made them feel that their feelings about it were valid.”
Mothers had a lot to say in the comment section of Shelbie’s video:
Although a life-altering decision such as this should be the mother’s choice to make, it’s not so simple. Anti-abortion laws are making it close-to-impossible for expecting mom’s to make the right choices for themselves and their children. What are your thoughts on this controversial subject?
