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What happened to “as long as the baby is healthy”? For some expecting parents, the sex of their future baby has become a priority, with one mother opening up about experiencing “gender disappointment.” After encouraging other parents to embrace their feelings, she ignited a heated conversation about motherhood.
A woman named Autumn Freeman candidly shared her initial reaction during the gender reveal of her baby girl, displaying visible disappointment when pink streamers flew out instead of blue.
The expecting mom took to her TikTok last month to share a video that has amassed 12.7 million views since it was posted
Captioning the video, which included clips of two different gender reveals, the mom wrote: “Trigger warning, one of these videos displays gender disappointment.”
Autumn Freeman’s TikTok video revealing her gender disappointment sparked a heated conversation about parenthood
Image credits: audi_elise
In the first clip, the Michigan-based content creator giggled and jumped into her husband’s arms as they watched pink confetti rain down from a popped balloon. “Oh my God, I’m so excited!”
In the second clip, the couple was seen reacting to the fact that their now-two-year-old daughter, Violet, was going to get a little sister, leaving Autumn unhappy.
The mom was seen with her husband, Andy, saying, “I’m actually sad.” He comforted her before she revealed she “wanted a boy.”
Despite the initial letdown, Autumn reportedly said her dismay faded soon after the reveal, which they filmed last October.
Image credits: audi_elise
At the time of the disappointing news, she had built up high hopes about welcoming another boy into the family.
Autumn had reportedly bonded with her “bonus kid,” eight-year-old stepson Grant. She told People: “In my perfect world, I’d have one boy and one girl.
“I actually wanted a boy with Violet, but it was my first one and I was just excited either way…Then with this one, we know it’s our last baby.”
Nevertheless, the hairstylist claimed that she grew more excited about raising two daughters, as she recalled: “I think I was bummed out for maybe a week, and then it went away.
“I just told myself the universe is giving me what I need and what I can handle…I’m just meant to be a girl mom.”
Autumn was seen telling her husband Andy: “I’m actually sad.” He comforted her before she revealed she “wanted a boy.”
Image credits: audi_elise
Autumn went on to address the backlash she received from her viral TikTok video.
She said: “There’s a bunch of haters in my comments that are like, ‘You don’t even love this baby. You don’t deserve this baby.’
“That’s not the case at all. It had nothing to do with how I feel about the baby or how much I love it or how much it’s going to be loved.
“It was just a brief moment, and now it’s gone. I’m ready for my girl.”
She also welcomed positive feedback, as the mom explained: “There [have] been so many positive people — maybe even more positive people than negative people — who are like, ‘I’ve gone through this, and thank you so much for sharing it.’”
Image credits: audi_elise
Last week, Autumn shared a follow-up video on TikTok to highlight some of the most supportive responses. In the caption, the girl-mom wrote: “Ladies, you are not alone, and you don’t deserve to be shamed!”
The TikToker remained unworried about her second daughter seeing the video one day, despite viewers raising the concern.
Autumn said: “I would tell her, ‘Yeah, you were the third girl.’
“‘We thought that we wanted a boy and we found out you were a girl.’”
“‘For a brief moment, I was sad that I wasn’t ever going to experience having a little boy, but now I have you and I know you and I love you and I wouldn’t trade you for the world.’”
She added: “When she’s old enough to comprehend it and see it, I think it’ll be an explainable thing.”
You can watch Autumn’s gender disappointment video below:
@audi_elise Have you experienced this ? #genderreveal #genderdisappointment #boyorgirl #genderrevealideas #avatarthelastairbender #pregnant ♬ Beautiful Things – Benson Boone
According to Baby Center, gender disappointment is the feeling of sadness that occurs when a person finds out their baby’s sex is the opposite of what they were hoping for.
Gender disappointment might often be followed by feelings of guilt, especially if those around the expecting parent respond to their reaction by saying they should be grateful that they have a healthy pregnancy or baby.
The website further states that while gender disappointment might only last a few days or weeks and often resolves on its own, it can continue for months or even years, leading to extreme gender disappointment.
In these cases, therapy can be helpful to process emotions thoroughly, especially if they’ve contributed on a larger scale to postpartum sadness, depression, or anxiety.
Autumn’s viral gender disappointment video continued to fuel different reactions
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