Dad\'s Role in Labor and Delivery
After nine long moths of waiting, many women are faced with the excitement and apprehension of labor and delivery. This stressful time is coupled with the anticipation of meeting the little person who is the center of the entire journey. Although Mom is faced with the burned and pain of labor and delivery, Dad is faced with nerve-racking fervor and anxiety. It is easy to forget about the father, but it’s important to include him in the process. Here are a few tips expectant fathers can use to help them ease through the wonderful event.
The more you know the better off you will be. Make sure that you pay attention during those parenting classes and those valuable labor and delivery workshops you attend. These will help you prepare by letting you know what to expect. Part of the fear associated with labor and delivery derives from the unknown. The more you know, the less you will fret.
There is a lot of time to kill. Labor and delivery is not filled with constant action. Though you feel the urge to race to the hospital, you will find that much of the time involves walking around the halls, pacing and supporting your wife. It is a good idea to bring something to use as a distraction. My husband watched me sleep for three hours after I had my epidural. He would have benefited from having a deck of cards or even a hand-held electronic game.
There is no need to worry if the nurse or doctor asks you to leave the room. My husband almost lost his mind when he was asked to step outside while I got my epidural. Neither of us expected that he would have to leave the room at any point during labor and delivery, but this is standard procedure and there is no need to fret.
For those dads who want to capture the labor and delivery on camera to preserve the special day infinitely, please consider your point of view. My husband and I opted to leave the memories of our daughter’s birth to memory. We left the video equipment home. For some couples, the special event has to be filmed and this may be the perfect distraction for some dads during labor and delivery.
Finally, there’s the blood. Labor and delivery is not pretty. There is a lot of blood, not to mention the placenta. However, once you see your new little baby, you will notice nothing else. In fact, most dads enter the delivery room again and again to witness their children enter the world.
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