728x90
Preparing for Fatherhood

The Expectant Father

Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-be

0 Comments

The Expectant Father In 1989, when my wife got pregnant for the first time, we were both first-time parents and equally ill-prepared for the whole pregnancy process. Fortunately for her, there were hundreds of books designed to educate, encourage, support and comfort women during their pregnancies. But when it finally hit me that I, too, was expecting, and the pregnancy was bringing out all sorts of feelings, emotions and worries that I didn't understand, there weren't any resources for me to turn to.

My wife's pregnancy books had a little (very, very little) information on what expectant fathers were going through, but it was generally incredibly superficial, consisting mostly of advice on how men should support their wives. Parenting magazines were similarly unhelpful.

When my wife got pregnant for the first time, we were both first-time parents and equally ill-prepared for the whole pregnancy.

So why don't we discuss men's concerns as fathers more? In my opinion, it's because we, as a society, value motherhood more than fatherhood and automatically assume that issues of childbirth and childrearing are women's issues.

But for me, fatherhood isn't a women's issue and so I began doing research. My research consisted of talking to dozens of men about their experiences as fathers and reading every piece of scientific data on fatherhood available to find out more about the ways all of us (men, women and society) regard and treat fathers and how that impacts fathers, families and children. What I found was that men's emotional response to pregnancy is no less varied than women's; expectant fathers feel everything from relief to denial, fear to frustration, anger to joy.


pages: 1 2
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT...
Post as:
Comment Text:
 
CAPTCHA:
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discretion.
 
cancel

There are no comments available for this article yet, be the first to add one!

Content provided on this site is for educational purposes only and should not be construed to be medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Click here for additional information.

Welcome, please join our community!
New guest? Sign up!   Returning guest? Sign in!
This content requires flash player 9. Click here to upgrade your flash player.
award winning baby nursery essentials
300x250
SOUND OFF! VOTE & DISCUSS

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar were recently named Parents of the Year by a non-profit organization. Do you think they deserve this title?

  results
AWARD WINNING PRODUCTS
JOIN THE BOOK CLUB

Join the Pregnancy Today Book Club for some great reads. More >

GALLERIES

728x90