*Lisa* - posted on 06/01/2010 ( 28 moms have responded )
1,858
12
UK researcher says dads should stay out of the delivery room and leave pregnancy to their partners.
June 1, 2010
Fathers-to-be who play an active role during their partner's pregnancy lose their parenting confidence because they feel like a failure, a UK researcher claims.
Dr Jonathan Ives from the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Birmingham is the lead researcher on a two-year study titled The Moral Habitus of Fatherhood, evaluating the philosophy and sociology of fatherhood, the UK's Guardian reported.
Men who attend antenatal classes and attend the birth of their child can emotionally shut down when they realise the only role they can really play during pregnancy and birth is a passive role supporting their partner, Dr Ives told the Guardian.
"Having begun the fathering role already feeling a failure may destroy his confidence," Dr Ives said.
"It can then be very difficult for him to regain faith in himself once the baby is born and move from that passive state to being a proactive father. His role in the family is no longer clear to him. He effectively becomes deskilled as a parent and this can lead to problems bonding with the child."
In the last two decades men have been encouraged to become more involved in their partner's pregnancy, but Dr Ives said this is "deskilling" men as fathers. Instead, he suggested men do not attend antenatal classes and do not attend the birth, staying outside until after their child has been safely delivered.
Playing a part in either of these elements of their child's gestation and birth caused men to feel helpless, Dr Ives said.
What do you think about this???
28 Comments
View replies by