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they don’t always know how to be
a meaningful part of labor.
Research suggests it’s important for partners to get guidance,
especially after a difficult birth.
When a team from Oxford University interviewed 10 men and one
woman whose partners had experienced life-threatening complications during birth, they found
that all of them were “deeply affected” by the experience, and at
least one even experienced subsequent depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“We are not suggesting that
fathers should be less involved in
childbirth, but [we are] calling for
a greater awareness of the impact
that these births can have on both
the mother and the father,” said
study researcher Lisa Hinton.
Even increasingly routine scenarios can unnerve partners. Lawrence Scheer, 37, who co-founded
Magnificent Baby (a clothing company) and who was not involved
in the Oxford study, said he was
“terrified” when his wife, Marina,
was wheeled toward the operating
room for a cesarean section seven
months ago. “The whole time
they’re down there cutting her up,
and she’s moving — I could see
her being jerked around by the
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cutting and poking and tearing,”
he said. “It was pretty traumatic.”
The most extreme voice in the
“dads in the delivery room” debate is French obstetrician Dr.
Michel Odent, who argues that
men should not be in the delivery
room — period. Odent published
a research paper claiming that
the presence of fathers, or men in
general, during delivery limits a
woman’s production of oxytocin,
I thought, ‘Wow,
I’m literally looking at the
grossest thing I’ll ever
see,’ but I didn’t care. I was
watching my child be born.”
slowing labor and increasing the
likelihood of cesarean delivery.
But the evidence supporting that
claim is scant at best, and most
birthing experts disagree.
“I think all partners should
participate,” 6