Store employee asked a postpartum doula if hormone shifts make women hate their husbands — her blunt response shut down the assumption fast
A simple question can sometimes lead to a conversation in a direction no one expected. Postpartum doula and content creator Emma Hughes experienced this while getting her screen protector replaced at a T-Mobile store, where an employee asked about her work. The conversation soon moved to the changes women experience after having babies, including whether shifting hormones could make them dislike their husbands. When the employee questioned further, Emma gave him a direct response that challenged his assumption. She later shared the awkward encounter in an Instagram post on September 25, 2026, through her account @mainelyemma.
Emma explained that she works as a postpartum doula, caring for mothers and babies after childbirth, mainly through overnight newborn care. When the employee asked what that meant, she gave him a quick explanation. He then asked whether mothers go through a major hormone change after having a baby. The content creator agreed, but he followed up by saying that the shift makes women hate their husbands. She immediately replied, "I think the hating the husbands usually has less to do with the hormone shift and more to do that the men were always useless to begin with, but the baby just illuminates that." A new baby can make a couple's existing problems more visible, which is why Emma's response was so direct.
She did not expect the conversation to move from her job to a discussion about husbands and relationships. In Emma's view, asking personal questions about motherhood requires some care, especially when the conversation involves sensitive changes after childbirth. Her answer also made it clear that she did not agree with reducing complicated relationship issues to hormones alone. The employee's question had started as a discussion about postpartum hormones, but his comment about husbands made the exchange uncomfortable. Emma added that she could not simply walk away after the conversation became awkward, as her screen protector still had to be replaced.
Postpartum mothers go through a lot, and a supportive partner is especially important. This is what one woman was grateful for when she worried about returning to work as her maternity leave was about to end. She was dreaded about leaving her baby at daycare and wondered whether the remaining two months would be enough time to feel ready. Her husband told her they would figure it out when the time came, but he had already started thinking of a way to help. Without telling her, he began taking on extra hours at work so she could spend more time with their baby.
His long workdays made her believe work was simply getting busier. He left home around 4:30 in the morning and returned close to 8:30 at night, while quietly saving money for the extra time she needed. One morning, he finally called her with the news that she could extend her maternity leave and stay at home for another month because "I have made the money and put it up for her.” The decision gave her more time with their baby and eased a worry she carried as a new mom.
For more interesting stories, follow @mainelyemma on her Instagram account.