AFL fans were quick to congratulate St Kilda forward Josh Battle and teammate Casey Ollier on the birth of their first child on Monday.
But some were a little confused by his announcement because of a detail in the Instagram post that they considered “flexible.”
Josh, 25, appeared shirtless in the hospital photo alongside Casey as the new parents cradled their newborn daughter, Bobbi Lee Battle.
A handful of followers thought Josh was using the occasion of his son’s birth to show off his muscles, but that wasn’t the case at all.
He was shirtless because hospitals now encourage dads to be “skin to skin” with their babies soon after birth, just as moms have done for years, because it helps them bond.
AFL star Josh Battle and his partner Casey Ollier welcomed their first child, a daughter, on Monday.
“Why did he take off his shirt?” one person asked.
‘Why don’t you have clothes?’ another questioned.
But one Twitter user pointed out that Josh took off his shirt to have skin-to-skin contact.
The St Kilda striker, 25, and his girlfriend announced the exciting news on social media by sharing a photo of the trio.
‘Skin-to-skin contact is really good for a newborn, so I’d say that’s why. I did it with my two children, something very common nowadays,” revealed another.
‘The midwife will help raise the baby’s temperature and bond with their father by swaddling them in skin-to-skin contact. “I would have been doing that before the photo was taken,” said a third user.
Meanwhile, other fans didn’t mention Josh going shirtless and simply congratulated the new parents on their joy.
Some fans were confused as to why Josh chose to be shirtless in the hospital photo.
“Congratulations to you both, welcome to the Saints family Bobbi,” one wrote.
‘Congratulations on the new addition to the Battle family!’ said another.
Bobbi is Casey’s second daughter; She welcomed her first child, three-year-old Billie Lee Decker, in November 2020 with her ex-partner Brad Decker.
Bobbi is Casey’s second daughter, having welcomed her first daughter, Billie Lee Decker, 3, in November 2020 with her ex-partner, Brad Decker.