Interabled couple Squirmy and Grubs explain why they kept their pregnancy private at first
TikTok stars Shane and Hannah Burcaw have revealed why they kept their pregnancy private for the first five months.
The content creators, who announced they are expecting their first child earlier this week (8 September), want to educate people on what being in an interabled couple is like, with some 1.86million subscribers on their YouTube channel Squirmy and Grubs.
Shane is in a wheelchair bound with a severe muscle-wasting disease known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2.
There is no cure for the rare genetic condition and it gets worse over time, although medicines and treatments can help manage symptoms.
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Hannah, meanwhile, is able bodied.
“We’ve kind of not shared for this first five months because we were just like both enjoying the privacy and also figuring out like what we should share, when we should share and all of that,” the soon-to-be mum explained in a recent video.
“We felt like we are bringing another human into the world, [and] they can’t like speak for their privacy right now and so that as parents is our responsibility,” Shane added.
“We wanted to take the sharing of all this with the world really carefully so that we’re being deliberate and intentional and make sure that what we are sharing aligns with our values.”
Shane explained that the pair wanted to protect their news from trolls and 'horrible people' online.
“There are going to be a number of people, a big number of people, who are not happy about this pregnancy announcement, and that’s another reason we haven’t wanted to share with the world,” he said.
“There are going to be horrible, horrible people in the comments and in the message boards and in our emails telling us that we are making the worst mistakes of our lives, [and] that I cannot and should not be a father because of my disability.
“And that kind of rhetoric and belief has really affected me as a person and it’s something that I grapple with all the time.”
On Tuesday, the pair took to Instagram to share the exciting news that Hannah is 20 weeks pregnant.
“We are beyond ecstatic to announce that we’re expecting our first child this coming January!” Hannah and Shane penned.
“Hannah is 20 weeks pregnant, and although we’ve been thoroughly enjoying this special time in privacy so far, we’ve also missed sharing all the joy with you, and there’s SO MUCH to share!
“We just posted a vlog update with way more details about the pregnancy so far and what lies ahead.”
Topics: YouTube, Parenting, Sex and Relationships
Anish Vij