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Should men be barred from the delivery room?
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Babies’ arrivals in the world would be more straightforward if women were left alone with only a midwife to help them, as they used to be, French obstetrician Michel Odent will tell the Royal College of Midwives’ annual conference in Manchester next month.******”The ideal birth environment involves no men in general,” he told the Observer over the weekend.******”Having been involved for more than 50 years in childbirths in homes and hospitals in France, England and Africa, the best environment I know for an easy birth is when there is nobody around the woman in labour apart from a silent, low-profile and experienced midwife — and no doctor and no husband, nobody else,” he said.******”In this situation, more often than not, the birth is easier and faster than when there are other people around, especially male figures – husbands and doctors.”******Do you agree?
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Okay, so the birth might be easier, but what about the family relationships? Being present at a birth isn’t just about holding your partners hand while they yell at you. I’m all in favour of faster and easier deliveries, but it’s all a bit more complex than that. And as a male doctor, has he been making life more difficult for women all these years?
The guy is spot on – it is not a trendy point but it is correct.
Think he has missed an essential point, ..its not just about the physical process of delivery. Its about being a family and I will never forget seeing both my daughter and son enter this world and the manner in which that strenghtened the bonds between all of us.
It might be easier for the doctor, but after having 4 children of my own and watching my grandson enter the world, I know I would want my husband there again. He was a huge help during the entire process. All of the doctors involved in the birth of my 4 children and my grandson welcomed both the Dad and families. And the doctor who delivered my grandson had also delivered two on my own children. It’s not totally necessary, but I think Dad’s are able to bond more quickly with their children when they are there at the time of birth.
I believe that it should be the woman’s choice. If she wishes to have the support of her spouse, family or friend then so be it. If she wants a quiet birth with just a midwife or doctor, then so be it. Who are we to judge what is best for everyone? It should be, and often is an individual choice!
I think Americans have taken the whole child birthing thing too far. We now name fetuses and paint their rooms at home before they are even born. That’s called counting your chickens before they hatch.A Father in the delivery room is a horrible distraction for the mother. Despite the miracle that is child birth, it is best left to the people in charge, women. To any aspiring fathers out there two points;No need to look at the babies head crowning or anything else down low, it will save you from seeing something you just won’t forget about.Ask your wife or signifigant other to consider a female OBGYN.Also, I’m an American father of three beauties.
And there goes another 100 years of progress towards equality! We can push men back into the waiting rooms like the 1950′s, or we can make them a part of the family from the get go. If a man can be involved in the conception, why not the birth? If the good doctor thinks men in the delivery room make it harder, set some ground rules and teach them in a required class. But kicking them out is in my humble opinion, reverse sexism. And speaking as a man, it is having been there for the birth of my daughter that really gives me the daily appreciation for what my wife had to go through in order to bring her in to the world.Personally, I would find another doctor. We did not fight all these years to get fathers or step-fathers into the delivery room in order to kick them right back out again because the doctor cannot deal with the relationships involved and finds his job ‘hard.’
Hell no i dont agree, i was in the room for my son being born and it was the most incredible experience of my life. I think it is just as important for the father to be there as it is for the mother to be there, and thats pretty important…lol Why would anyone not want the father to be a part of his childs birth? That should be the real question.
Let the Mother decide after all she knows best. This was confirmed by a french sutdy. Among american indian tribes it was quite usual the mother and father would do it on their own.The perfect Midwife we had for Dwad (last son) left us alone as desired, noticed my awareness on the tokogram and the mothers condition.Maybe the question is not midwife or doctor but rather who and how many. Beeing intimate is not a question of gender but of trust and confidence.
I do agree that the modern hospital environment causes stress and may delay deliveries. A calm and caring partner by your side does not in my opinion. my wife wants me in there, she doesn’t know the doctors and nurses like she does me, familiarity is comfort and comfort is the opposite of stress.
Maybe the ideal child-raising environment involves no men either. Maybe the ideal workplace environment involves no women. Any other unprovable sexist biases out there?
I agree completely that men should not be in labor and delivery rooms. My husband was there 29 years ago, and he was no help at all. Actually, he was a hinderance! There will be plenty of time for fathers to bond with their children AFTER the birth.
yes i agree that men should be barrred”””””” from delivery rooms theirs job was to fertilze the egg and wait for the new baby and do not thy to be doctor and mid wife to their children.
Comme ci comme ca.How ‘fashionable’ has this expectation become – almost a ritual now in many countries. Husband (partner), family, camera, lighting, audio, make-up, hair…However, like most fashions it suits some and not others, but the trauma of getting it wrong can have negative consequences.I wonder, do we hear much in the way of objective analysis? Probably not because it isn’t considered appropriate to imply criticism for what is considered to be a very emotional experience.Also, from a operational viewpoint there is a reasonable argument to keep the numbers in the delivery room down to a minimum.I feel a survey coming on!
I have mixed feelings. My husband was a tremendous help and I always want him to be present for the children’s birth. I had two quick births, four hours and three hours, and there were people in and out of my room. I would not have wanted them to go any faster or I would have had them in the car or at home.For my last child I had a male nurse and I was a little confused the whole time. I kept thinking he was going to leave at any time, but he never did. He was great and it was not until the birth three hours later that I realized he was my nurse.If anything would have gone wrong I would have wanted someone there that could have made the call for me if there was a decision to be made. As you could tell I was not in my right mind during the labors.So guys and gals you chose. It is your right to be present, but if you do not want it, do not do it! You chose.
I was present at the birth of all my 4 children. Midwifes were in charge except maybe once. It was certainly interesting, but all this talk about “bonding”? It sounds pretty oversold.
Having my husband in the room made me want to be stoic about the process, brave.I would have appreciated a “wise and experienced” midwife more than nurses and doctors popping in and out. Sometimes doctors are not your own, but the on call guy.Having seen my children born did not stop my husband from leaving all of us when he got tired of our marriage of 28 years. He is not close to the children.If being at the birth helps some people bond as a family, wonderful. However, it is not a universal constant that can be applied to all families. Marriages/human relations are far too complex for one factor to be a determinate of outcomes.I would have appreciated a cool, dim enviornment without distractions in which to labor. A mid wife who knew me, my strengths and weaknesses, my tolerance to pain and stress, who had followed my pregnancy throughout would have been preferable. I have had three children, the last two 11 years after the first. I do appreciate the skills of doctors when they are needed but for a typical birth they are not. I had an atypical birth once so appreciate what a doctor can do when needed.We need more research on the topic. Midwife deliveries may be cheaper, too.
I’d have been a lot happier and had a much easier time (both times) if I’d been allowed to be alone with the labor nurse and, when appropriate, the doctor. (Come to think of it I’d have been MUCH happier and had an INFINITELY easier time if I’d had caesarean sections while being completely unconscious.) Dad’s sense of wonder is certainly not more important than the physical process of giving birth, and waiting an additional ten minutes to bond should be no impediment.
Being a father (and a family) is more than watching a birth. I agree with the doctor, although it should be left to the mother to decide.
At first my reaction was no! Then I read the full story…there may be some truth to the Doc’s theory and I can certainly see where a low key quite birth would be eaiser.
Women have programed men to be there for the entire process as this satisfies their need to do everything together. Most men in the absence of their wives would most likely admit to rather being at work or at home in front of the TV than be in the birthing room. All that screaming and cursing, who needs it? If God intended men to be so involved, men would also have a uterus. Alas, all we got of girl parts is nipples.
WRONG, WRONG, AND WRONGI hate to let emotion fly but this is one that I will…I delivered my son (with a midwife standing by) and i will say that was the single greatest and most important moment of my life. Men don’t get to directly be apart of their preborn child’s life besides the moment of conception. We get to be a part of our wife’s life running here, doing that, but not our actual child’s life. Being a part of the birth made me feel more connected to my son, like i was part of the pregnancy as well, something we never get to experience…On a personal note, I did have to fight to stay in as the other nurses tried to usher me out on many occasions until the midwife stood with me and kicked them out. My wife was in a lot of pain and in the beginning I spoke for here… Something the nurses didn’t like, and something I didn’t like (as my wife and i disagreed on a few things but I advocated her wishes against mine), but something my wife to this day still thanks me for. With the amount of pain she was in the last thing she wanted to do was answer their 50 questions… After her water broke she had a quick (20 minutes) and relatively pain free birth.
Rules for fathers in the delivery room:-Ask the lady for permission first.-Keep out of swinging distance.-If she wants you out, then you go.-If things get heavy, keep out of the way of the medical staff.-Don’t pass out on the floor or freak out (manners, people).-And let her hold the kid first. Basic biology there.
I think sure there may be aspects of having a male in the room that could possibly cause issues, but the whole birth of a child is about the family and TWO people bringing life into this world. I could never think of not being there, just as an emotional support for my wife.The gains that being present during birth bring to the family as a whole far out way any negative aspects.
Jeremy like the obstetrician who came up with this stupid, moronic, idiotic, idea you too deserve to have your neck rung until every last breath is taken from you i can not beleive some people would actually think this is wright if my husband had not been at the birth of our son first of all i would have panicked and this would have been bad for baby second we would have been divorced, are you one of these absentee fathers who does not care to bring up your children and just leaves the mother to sit around on the dole all day while you go out and make more of these sprogs you do not want to help nurture get a life!!!!!
The last person I wanted to see in my delivery room was the father of my daughter. Period. Just think of Mother Nature, how the other mammals do?, I don’t see any other specie letting the “male” to see themselves in that not comfortable situation, women don’t need that neither!, otherwise, by nature, men would carry babies (during pregnancy) as well as women do.Totally agree with the Dr. in the article. We would benefit, mom & babies, of a more less-dramatic-and-attended deliveries. I wonder if that would also influence the frequence and amount of normal deliveries v. C-section?
I know of at least one person who would most likely have died in the labour room, were it not for her husband insisting that she was rushed immediately for a caesarean section. Sometimes the Dad can instinctively pick these things up, where the health professional can’t.I do believe that birthing should be kept as low-key as possible though. Aren’t there some statistics somewhere that births attended by doctors are on average much more problematic than those that are handled purely by a midwife?I’m glad to have been present at the births of all of my children, and like to believe that I was a help and encouragement to my wife. To an extent, I think that it helped my wife relax that I was there, because we’d discussed our birthing plan in advance, and then I was able to guide the midwife through our wishes. Fortunately we had really great midwives for all of the deliveries who were happy to work with the things that we had decided.