A GUY’S GUIDE TO THE BIRTHING ROOM

Table of Contents:

Introduction...3
Changing Roles...5
Stages of Labor...8
Once At the Hospital...13
Your Role in the Delivery Room...15
Comfort Measures for Her...19
Labor Tool Kit...24
Pain Medications...26
Pain Relievers...27
Epidural...28
Delivering the Baby...30
Episiotomies...32
The Baby Arrives...34
Procedures for the Baby...37
Reasons for a Cesarean Section...38
Guy’s Guide to a C-Section...42
Deciding to Be There or Not...45
Conclusion...48


CHANGING ROLES
As we’ve said, not so long ago, the man’s place during
child birth used to be in a smoke-filled waiting room holding
a box of cigars awaiting the arrival of his child. Now the
opposite is true. What brought about this change?
It seems books might have had a role to play in this
transformation. In 1974, Robert Bradley wrote the book
Husband-Coached Childbirth, in which he basically
empowered men to take as crucial a role in the birthing
process as their partner (albeit not physically, of course!). At
the time, Bradley was both hailed as a champion for men's
rights in the delivery room and criticized as someone who
was trying to advocate controlling the woman. Despite, or
perhaps because of the controversy, the book 'gave birth' to
the 'Bradley method' and a series of classes, still running
today, in the USA.
Putting husbands in the delivery room not only
coincided with feminism but was intimately wrapped up with
the natural childbirth movement and its effort to see the
modern body in a more holistic fashion.
The change also could have been brought about with
cultural developments. Back in the 50’s and 60’s, it was an
unspoken rule that men just didn’t go into the delivery
room. However, in the 70’s and 80’s, men began
questioning the medical status quo and took a more handson
approach to child rearing and their rights to be present
during their child’s birth.
The dissolution of the nuclear family also contributed to
the change with fewer women around to take care of the
expectant mother’s needs during childbirth. This naturally
led to the man taking on that responsibility.
Changing attitudes about pregnancy in general also
brought more men into the delivery room. With more and
more people having children without being married as well
as the rise in teen pregnancy rates, the man in the delivery
isn’t always the baby’s father.
Today, it is almost expected that the father be present
for the birth of his child. It is increasingly uncommon for the
man not to participate and help out in labor and delivery.
Not all men embrace this, however. Some would prefer to
go back to the waiting room.
Some fathers, particularly first-time dads, feel
apprehensive about seeing the woman they love in pain. Top
concerns amongst expectant dads are embarrassing faux
pas in the delivery room - fainting, feeling sick and
squeamish and basically not knowing how to best support
their partner through a potentially long and painful process.
These doubts should be considered and respected by
both you and momma-to-be. It's important to think about
and discuss whether you want to be present and how you
see your role during the pregnancy. It can be much more
complicated than it first looks.
You may both want to be together for the birth and feel
very certain that this is the right thing for you as a couple.
You may be concerned about whether you can cope with
being at the birth as well as the intensity of labor.
You should also consider the possibility that your
partner might not want you present throughout labor and
birth because she doesn’t want you to see her in childbirth.
She may feel that she wants to be free to focus only on
herself and her needs. You might quite like the idea of
being her ‘coach’, only to find she does not want you telling
her what to do.
Talking through these issues during the pregnancy can
go a long way to avoid problems once labor begins. If you,