Even though the world is probably going through its worst crisis right now it is we humans who together can survive even the worst of all with some compassion and empathy in our hearts. This young mother's TikTok story of bitterly weeping at her workplace and sharing her painful dilemma of leaving her newborn at NICU and coming to work to save her maternal leaves and the internet coming to her rescue will leave you in tears today.
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TikTok user Rebecca Shumard was left crying with bitter tears after the new mom had to get back to her work only 12 days after the premature birth of her baby named Eden, who arrived at 27 weeks and was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU, to be kept alive. Mom thought that she should get back to her work so that she can avail her maternity leave once her baby gets home.
The young mom posted a video on TikTok with helpless tears where she shared the story of her daughter's premature birth and her helplessness in the whole situation.
TikTok
In the clip shared on her social media account, the Pennsylvania mom works at her job as a medical assistant, doing paperwork in her cubicle, and crying.
“You have to return to work 12 days after having a premature baby at 27 weeks, so that when she is eventually discharged from the NICU you can spend what little maternity leave you have with her,” the emotional TikTok caption over the footage reads.
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Even though Shumard’s leave will still be unpaid, she felt the need to save her six weeks of leave to care for her child at home.
“How can anyone afford to stay home during a NICU stay?” she asked her followers. “How can anyone handle the guilt when you have to work and can’t be with your baby?”
TikTok
The mom further added that she feared that her separation from Eden will affect her ability to breastfeed when the baby eventually comes home.
“You try to pump at work every three hours, but they’re understaffed,” she said. “Milk supply is (diminishing) at 8 weeks postpartum.”
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The heartbreaking story went viral on TikTok for all the reasons right and has been viewed more than 3 million times.
As the video went viral and people were left emotional with Shumard's tears, many people reached out to her to Venmo and sent enough money to the mom that she can spend time with her daughter in NICU without worrying about paying bills and stuff.
She shared a video of herself with Eden at the NICU, thanking viewers.
“TikTok … because of you I will not be forced to choose between being with my daughter or paying the bills,” she shared. “I am eternally grateful.”
“I wanted to come on here and say, ‘Thank you.’ This is freaking crazy — so many of you guys have shown support and reached out and donated,” she said.
TikTok
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“It is absolutely not the responsibility of generous people like you to take something like this on and to do that. I think our country needs to realize that this is a problem that six weeks of maternity leave … is not enough. And if you do use FMLA, which is Family Medical Leave Act, those up to 12 weeks, depending on how long you’ve been with the company are unpaid.”
TikTok