This is a post that became viral in the Philippines a few months ago. I would like to discuss it here and give some of my thought about it.
The Jollibee Paperbag Story
Tagalog Version
Went through a traumatic experience giving birth at a public hospital, Alone for 16 hours of labor and in pain every 5 mins. The nurses were nice, but the doctors were the opposite and would get mad at me for reacting to the pain I felt, Had lE checked 5 times and it was the worst pain ever, while laying on an uncleaned delivery bed, with blood stains of other people. All this while another woman 5 steps away from me is screaming in horror giving birth, no curtains or anything to divide us.
Doctor did a splinting to move my stool out, didn't wipe me or offer a napkin, but she just placed my old diaper back on. I gave birth where there were atleast 10 students standing infront of me, one holding a phone which I noticed was taking a video without my consent..
Afterwards, one nurse gave me a bad look and told me to go take a bath. was forced to take a cold bath after literally just giving birth, because they said there was no hot water available anymore.
Feared I could die because it might not have been safe to take a cold bath I felt i lost all my dignity...
Told everything to my husband and all he said was
"Ok lang yan. Tapos naman na."
He gave no eye contact, no comfort, just those plain words.
And the next day, he comes back to the hospital holding a paperbag of Jollibee My eyes lightup and say "Hala Love, sarap nyan!" And he says,
"Sorry Lab, sakin lang toh, Gutom na kasi talaga ako, Alam mo naman na puyat din ako naghihintay sayo.. May libre naman na hospital food dyan, yun nalang sayo.
English Version
I went through a traumatic experience giving birth at a public hospital. I was alone for 16 hours of labor, in pain every 5 minutes. The nurses were kind, but the doctors were the opposite — they would get angry at me for reacting to the pain I was feeling. I had five internal exams (IE), and it was the worst pain ever. I was lying on an unclean delivery bed with bloodstains from previous patients. All the while, another woman just five steps away from me was screaming in horror as she gave birth — with no curtains or anything separating us.
A doctor performed a procedure to remove my stool (splinting), but didn’t even wipe me afterward or offer a napkin. She just placed my used diaper back on me. I gave birth in front of at least 10 students — one of them was holding a phone, and I noticed they were recording a video without my consent.
Afterward, a nurse gave me a bad look and told me to go take a bath. I was forced to take a cold bath right after giving birth because they said there was no more hot water. I was terrified I might die, thinking it wasn’t safe to bathe in cold water after delivery. I felt like I lost all my dignity...
I told my husband everything. And all he said was:
"It’s okay. It’s over now."
No eye contact. No comfort. Just those plain, empty words.
The next day, he came back to the hospital holding a Jollibee paper bag. My eyes lit up and I said, “Wow, Love, that looks so good!”
And he replied:
“Sorry, Love, this is just for me. I’m really hungry. You know I was up all night waiting for you... There’s free hospital food over there — just eat that instead.”
My Reaction
I have no experience in the delivery room. I got no wife nor kids, also haven't been in a situation where i tend to my cousin's pregnancy. I couldn't imagine the pain of giving birth to a kid, and that is one of the things us men can't do. I'm sure that it was worth it to spend very long and harsh hours for her to give birth to her new child, and im sure that she will give the utmost love and care that she can provide.
But the experience she had to go through other people, the hospital, nurses and doctors, who gave her the bare minimum in terms of hospitality, says something about how used these people are too this, but also giving less empathy to their patients. The nurse giving her a “bad look” could mean that she is tired, or just is that. There was also the past where the doctor didn't clean her private parts after splinting the stool, not cool yo. That could start an infection and could even effect how the baby and probably would get it infected as well. She also got bathed in to a child bath, because they ran out or hot water. Now i know that here in the Philippines it can be like that sometimes, and it prolly gonna happen if you are in a public hospital since public hospitals careers so many patients and also they are understaffed as well.
There was a bunch of students as well where one of them took a video of her. She said that 10 students were there when she gave birth, and one of them took a video. Well, i think they were curious as to how women give birth, but, honestly, why were they there? Even if she is in a communal(?) area, there should be some sort of privacy done like covering her room with curtains. Again, probably the hospital is understaffed or it is just a bad timing.
And lastly, the husband. I don't know what is going on with this guy, very nonchalant, pretty selfish for someone who has a wife which is undergoing childbirth. Are women prohibited to eat fast food after childbirth? Don't know. This scenario seems bad. The man does not have any sympathy or care for her. When she told her everything able the procedure, the man was not really listening, based on her account. What is this communication between them? maybe the lack of sleep affected the man to act that way? And when he ordered food at jollibee, he did not even think of buying something for her woman. This relationship seems to be not that good, or i am just looking at one scenario of their life.
AI Slop?
Not gonna lie, i think this is an AI story. I have a few reason why it is and i will try to explain why. I could be wrong, and if i am, Im really sorry for the woman that had to go through this and im very sorry for this post i made saying that this is not true.
Anonymous post
Not all anonymous post are made by AI but i FEEL that this one is. It came out of the blue, and ofcourse, no sign of the real postwoman to show herself. Yes its anonymous, but there is a chance that she can show herself so that we know that its real.
Seems too cliche and too harsh
In the internet, this type of content works. Drama get clicks this one will strum your heartstrings to sadness. This could also make women feel empathy to this woman since they are ladies who could have experience neglect and harsh treatment from their loved ones and others.
The Truth
Turns out, it is not AI!!! Just recently check for an update and i just proved myself wrong. Here is the proof and yeah. Thats it! Maybe i just became a schizo and rely less on anonymous contents being human made.
Conclusion
Love is like feces, sometimes you just feel it without explanation. Having a relationship that you trust is the best for building you own family. Based on the post, the woman had a mismatch in that, but she keeps her head high and still maintain a positive attitude for her baby. To become a single parent is hard since in this economy, having to buy a house is hard, food and other expenses is getting pricier while to salary is barely increasing. I hope that we can all find the right partner for us, who sympathize to what we are going through and support us and vice versa, when we are in trouble.
Apologize if this post was critical for the woman and affected her negatively.