The role of a husband during pregnancy is a beautiful journey for every couple. The husband is the central figure whose moral support means a lot to the expecting mother. When an expecting mother is left alone to deal with it, the journey might seem tedious. He should be with her and the baby she lovingly carries in her womb. Just by his presence, he can make it all beautiful and secure for both of them.
Every pregnant woman goes through emotional upheavals during pregnancy. She surely needs the support of her mother and husband. Being there for her and her baby and assuring love, respect, and caring for them is of utmost importance.
Something as ordinary as talking is a good example: “A child hears his father’s voice in utero and there is solid evidence that hearing that voice makes a big emotional difference. In cases where a man talked to his child in utero using short soothing words, the newborn was able to pick out his father’s voice in a room even in the first hour or two of life. More than pick out, he responds to it emotionally. If he’s crying, for instance, he’ll stop. That familiar, soothing sound tells him he is safe.”
The baby’s heart would stop racing, his respirations would calm down. This little newborn child would often strain to turn the head towards ‘that voice’, blinking through the bright lights, instinctively trying to ‘see’ the voice that he/she knew so well.
ON BABY:
It has been observed that children of women whose husbands were away or did not show a keen interest in their progeny were either born prematurely or generally have low weight at birth.
ON MOTHER:
Many maternal complications such as anemia, high blood pressure, and more serious ailments were prevalent among women whose husbands were absent.
The Role of Yesterday’s Husbands during pregnancy was expected to be good providers and taskmasters. They never took part in household chores. Emotional support was the elders’ job. The expectation that today’s Husbands will be a sensitive caregiver to both his wife and children, calls for a difficult era of transition. In the olden days, the joint family system served as a great emotional buffer, where elders took the responsibility to give moral support to the expecting mother. A cordial relationship existed among neighbors who were like family members and offered help without expecting any favor in return. In sharp contrast, in the present-day nuclear family system, elders don’t live with the couple. Sometimes we don’t know who our neighbors are even after living close to them for decades. So the burden of taking care of the pregnant woman falls on the shoulders of the spouse.
Many fathers have only nights and weekends to interact with their newborns. Added to this, the fact that more than half of all new mothers breastfeed limits the husband’s role as a source for feeding the baby.
Dr. Ross Parke found that although men are slightly slower to warm to their children due to the fact that they are not as biologically or culturally primed as women, now fathers and children are bonding openly for good. The husbands kiss, hug, rock, touch, and hold their newborn babies as much as their wives do. They are actively getting involved in household chores. A growing number of husbands have also started to take their time off during the first few years of their babies’ growth. Some fathers, through silence, their hearts are full of love. In some cases, the sensitive baby recognizes his unexpressed love and responds.
Become Informed – Read up on pregnancy, childbirth, and baby care. Talk to other fathers. The more informed you are, the more comfortable you’ll feel. It’s also good to develop a support system of fathers, too, to call upon, should you need some help relating to your spouse during pregnancy or adjusting to changes after the baby comes.
Attend Prenatal Appointments – Expecting mothers feel happier when their husbands accompany them to the doctor’s clinic. When he discusses with the doctor about her progress and learns the precautions to be taken she feels secure. Naturally, she looks forward to him to stay with her during delivery. It’s a great way to show support to the partner. For the husband also hearing the heartbeat and seeing the ultrasound helps make the pregnancy feel more real, especially in the early months when the only outward signs may be a nauseated, tired, and moody mother.
BeFeel for kicks – A couple of weeks after the expecting mother starts to feel the baby move, others too will be able to feel the kick if they put their hand on the expecting mother’s belly. Talk or sing to the baby – Even in the womb, the baby can hear the father’s voice and react. Once the baby is born, he or she will be able to differentiate the father’s voice from the mother’s and others’ voices.
Talking to the baby every day as a daily routine, about the daily update and make the baby feel continuously bonded with the father. The baby identifies the voice, touch, and feel of the father in the room or over the phone. What an honor for the father to be sensed by his baby in the expecting mother’s womb! By now your baby would have befriended you. So the baby looks forward to his or her time to be with you on a daily basis. Have a particular time schedule every day in which you talk to your baby. One of the roles Husband During Pregnancy is Commitment which is the best gift you can give to your baby and wife.
For more details, you can go through my book called “TALKING TO THE BABY IN THE WOMB – GARBHA VIDYA”. This book is available on the Amazon website in English, Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil languages.
