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 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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