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Should You Have A ‘Month Of Silence’ After Your Baby's Birth?

Should You Have A ‘Month Of Silence’ After Your Baby's Birth?

Parents are divided over whether having a month of silence after a baby is born is a good idea.

The comments came after U.S. actors, Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder, revealed they would be doing it after the the birth of their first child.

"After the baby arrives, we're doing one month of silence," Reed told Fit Pregnancy.

"Just the three of us, no visitors, and we're turning off our phones too, so there's no expectation for us to communicate."

A post shared by Nikki Reed (@iamnikkireed) on

Reed added: "Otherwise, every five minutes it would be: 'How are you feeling? Can we have a picture?'

"You don't get those first 30 days back, and we want to be fully present."

We asked our readers on the HuffPost UK Parents Facebook page about the month of silence and views were mixed.

Despite not having heard of the idea before, some mums thought it was brilliant.

Mum Emma Leary wrote: "At first I thought they weren't intending to make any noise even to each other, but having read properly, it sounds like a great idea,

"The first few weeks are hard and can be really challenging if there's too much going on. Of course, they've made this pact but they can always reach out to family and friends for support if, along the way, they feel they need it."

Another mum, Lau Parker, wrote: "I like the idea. It means they won't be bombarded with visitors 24/7 and get a chance to spend some time getting to know one another and learning about life with a baby. It's not for everyone, but it's their choice."

And Becca Farrelly wrote: "I can completely understand it! We did this for five days however we actually lost friends because of not doing a big 'announcement' and not having people over.

"It was our first child and if I look back now, I was in complete shock. We would do it again though as it's a really special time."

Rhonda Elvira said she tried this and it worked well.

"I am all for this," she wrote. "I refused visitors for the first four weeks, after five weeks you were welcome, but only if you brought a meal for my family or you were prepared to throw the hoover around my house. We needed time to work everything out."

Other parents didn't understand the need for time away from friends and family.

"I don't understand why you wouldn't want to share your baby," wrote Tracey Nelder.

"I couldn't wait to show my girls off when they were born. Plus friends and family are so excited to meet them, I think it's mean to keep them away."

Mum Karen Lowe wrote: "I would have hated it. I loved having visitors and spreading the joy."

And another commented: "No, I wouldn't fancy this myself."

So what do you think? Share your views and comments on our Facebook thread, here.

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