19 October 2023 , 18:52
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A man has been slammed as "gross" and "weird" after he nonchalantly asked a colleague if he could drink her breastmilk while in the middle of their lunch break. The man claimed he had simply meant to ask the new mum what would happen if someone who wasn't her baby drank her milk, but phrased the question in a "stupid way" that left his colleague feeling sick.
The man explained his co-worker - whom he gave the fake name Kate - had a baby "a little while ago" and she had been talking about breastfeeding with another colleague before the man jumped into the conversation. When things got awkward, Kate refused to answer his questions, at which point he and the other colleague started discussing the topic between themselves - much to the mum's discomfort.
In a post on Reddit, the man said: "My coworker Kate had a baby a little while ago, and in the breakroom during lunch yesterday she was talking about breastfeeding. During the conversation, I asked Kate, 'What would happen if I were to drink your breastmilk?'. Kate said, 'Excuse me?'.
"I did realise that it sounded like a weird question when you didn't hear the train of thought leading up to it, so I tried to explain myself and said, 'I mean is it okay because your baby is related to you, but I'd get sick because I don't have your same bacteria?'. Kate didn't answer me, but our other coworker Lauren then said, 'Well, it can't be that that's how it works because then wet nurses wouldn't have been a thing.'
"I've never heard of a wet nurse and asked Lauren, 'What's that?', Lauren said, 'It's when you hire a nanny who had a baby at the same time as you so that she can also breastfeed your baby for you, but it's like an old-timey thing.' At this point, Kate said, 'You guys are being d**ks,' and left.
'I don't want children staying up late at weekends - I really need adult time'
"I found out today that she's telling people that me and Lauren were making fun of her about breastfeeding. So I do understand why Kate would've been uncomfortable with the first way I asked the question because yes that was kind of a stupid way to say it, but I don't really understand how she thinks I was making fun of her at all after that."
Commenters on the post were horrified for the new mum, as they branded the man "weird" for asking such an "intrusive question" for seemingly no reason. One person said: "Look, some thoughts just don't need to be shared with others. You asked a gross and weird question, and I'm not entirely sure why you even thought she'd want to answer or necessarily know the answer. You seemed to be trying to creep her out on purpose, which she took as making fun of her."
But others acknowledged that although the question was posed in an odd way, there wasn't anything inherently wrong with what he asked. Someone wrote: "The original phrasing was creepy, but your explanation of what you were trying to ask seems reasonable."