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A woman has spoken about the reality of gender disappointment after discovering she was pregnant with her fourth son. You can see her talk about it here:
Erica Swinehart, 24, has four sons under the age of five but has admitted to feeling sad about the fact that she may never have a daughter.
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In a post on TikTok, Erica decided to open up about the realities of gender disappointment, explaining that it doesn’t make her love her children any less.
However, after talking about the somewhat taboo topic, Erica did receive some nasty comments from people who said her opinions could cause her children to feel unloved.
Erica, from Florida in the US, said: "I think others are afraid to admit they have gender disappointment because you can get lots of backlash for it.
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"I don’t believe it will affect my son in the future one bit. I’m very open and honest with my boys about everything.
“I want them to know it’s okay to have those kind of feelings but it doesn’t mean they’ll last forever or make you love your kids any less.
"My husband is extremely thankful for our healthy boys as am I, however he did want a baby girl as well.
"I just wanted to enjoy my last pregnancy and now he’s finally here, I couldn’t imagine not having him, he’s perfect. All the gender disappointment just goes away.
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"It doesn’t bother me to have another son. I’m mourning the fact I may never have a little girl.”
In the video, Erica explained that she felt sad thinking that she’d never get to go wedding dress shopping as a mum or witness her child go through a physical pregnancy.
She added: "Gender disappointment for me is mourning the fact that I may never have a little girl, however, it can be different for others.
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“Any parent or grandparent can experience gender disappointment.
"It’s important to speak out on it so others don’t feel alone or that they’re the only ones who feel that way.
“It’s a real thing and it doesn't make me love my children any less.
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"I spoke out about this because I saw so many controversial videos about it and people were so rude and ruthless about the whole situation.
“I wanted to let others know it’s okay to be disappointed, it’s normal.
"This is our last baby. My husband does not want any more children, however we may adopt in the future.
“I’ve thought about having more later on in life since I’m still so young but that’s to be decided.
"I got a lot of parents who were thankful I was speaking out because they’ve felt the same way.
“I did receive hate too, but that was mostly from those who don't have children."
Claire Reid