I hate it when people confidently predict a happy outcome for others, when they really don't know. It seems cowardly and shallow to me. Case in point: My cousin just gave birth to 1 pound twins at 24 weeks. I'm not their Dr., but I've been around enough to know that that's a pretty iffy situation. It chaps my hide all these syrupy congratulations "We just KNOW that they'll be coming home with you really soon" Uh, no, not real soon even in the best circumstances. And no, you don't know. How will your words stand if they lose these babies?
Besides, what do you say in these situations? It's a birth, so congratulations are in order, but its also a serious situation that may not just end happily with them going home. Those babies may have untold problems in the future. Is that still congratulations? I just said simply, "We are praying for you" (which is the truth) and nothing more. Is that insensitive or pessimistic? Hmmmph.
Awkward! Hard to know what to say in that situation, though.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me of one of my social pet peeves, which is not quite as much of a faux pas, but makes me cringe whenever I see it happen. No matter how certain you think you are that a stranger is pregnant, never, never congratulate them on the baby. You'd be surprised how often you are wrong.
Oh, noo! My thoughts go out to your cousin and her family!
ReplyDelete