A Love Letter to Partners        

I once taught a private childbirth education series to a couple in their home. The mom-to-be was excited and eager to learn about her progressing pregnancy, labor and birth, and the importance of postpartum support. Her husband, on the other hand, wasn’t engaged at all. He’d impatiently walk in and out of the room as if the conversation didn’t pertain to him. During the scant few moments he actually joined his wife on the couch, it was abundantly clear that his text messages were far more important to him than anything we were discussing.   At first, I thought that the subject matter might be freaking him out or that maybe he was just super nervous (plenty of partners are). Perhaps I was boring him – who knows? What I did know for certain was that his wife was clearly embarrassed by his behavior, and at one point she huffed off to get a glass of water. And so there we were, me and the husband. All alone. Yup, it was awkward – as in, “cue the deafening crickets chorus.” I was about to attempt some small talk when he put his phone down, glanced upward and locked eyes with me. “Look”, he said. “Can you just…can you just give me the top five takeaways here? What do I really need to know so that I can support her when all of this goes down?” I thought to myself, “Like, wow. We just reviewed massage approaches, questions to ask on your hospital tour, 85 comfort techniques, a comprehensive packing list. Where the heck have you been, Sir?” And then, I too...
Source: Cord Blood News - Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Tags: parents pregnancy Source Type: blogs