Monday, 21 July 2008

• Dads in The Delivery Room

   

          After having a discussion today with a friend of mine who is going to be married in a couple of months, the conversation took an interesting turn regarding “privacy” issues in a relationship and exactly how “comfortable” you are with your significant other.  Now, of course, working in the healthcare profession in general, and especially in labor and delivery, I can tell you there is no topic that is off limits for me (regardless of who I am talking to).  Being that this is a G-rated, family-friendly blog, I won’t go into the gruesome details, but my surprise came down to “Well, if you aren’t comfortable with THAT, how are you ever going to be comfortable with all the STUFF that happens in the delivery room!”    My friend and I laughed and started talking about ways to “break-in” her man so that all-things-womanly wouldn’t come as such a surprise when that inevitable day came that he was forced to acknowledge that, yes, things go on with women that are slightly less than “sexy.”  And I don’t mean that we occasionally wear sweatpants.

  Some men perhaps never get used to this idea, and they are probably the guys that I see staring blankly at the wall during a delivery.  Other men are probably just more inclined to understand that the human body has all sorts of….well….bodily functions, and not all of them are pictures for the baby book.  I suggested to my friend that she start simple—like having her fiancé check out that dreaded feminine hygiene aisle at the drugstore, and perhaps even make a  tampon purchase for her one day.  It is a big step in man’s life, but it is indeed an aisle that every man must someday walk down. (And he thought going down to the alter was the big one!)  It is these baby-steps that get him ready to stay up-right when it is time for the baby.  There is nothing worse than when a dad hits the floor during his baby’s delivery—and it happens more often than you might think.  

  So how did your husband, or significant other handle your delivery?  Does anyone wish they had more “break-in” time to reduce to the anxiety?

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