Preparing for Child Delivery—A Dad's Perspective

Being a military family, ours can be less than conventional at times.  For example, we are about to have our third child and I feel as though I'm going to be a father for the first time.

Part of the reason is that I have never witnessed childbirth.  Frankly, it scares the crap out of me.  Watching videos have helped to prepare me for this event where I've come to find that when they say that they "catch the baby," they actually have to catch the baby, because after hours of the head lingering at 2 and 5 and 9 centimeters, the child bursts out of the womb like a bat out of hell.....I mean, an angel from the heavens.

So, my wife, knowing this, has provided me with some wisdom that I am now passing on to you.

First, we watched a YouTube video of a woman giving birth.  It was a few minutes long and a straight shot at the vagina.  Upon watching this video, my legs gave out from under me and I watched the remainder from the floor.  This was about 4 months ago.

Next, she bought me some books.  I tried to read them, but found them rather boring, which would have gotten me into hot water, except that I had found some father-to-be videos on Netflix. 

We recently watched "Pregnant Man" and "Being Dad."  Both were worth watching, and the latter provided me with the spitting image of childbirth, leading my wife and I to agree that I'll probably not assist in the catching of the child; (not that anyone's offering).

In you're training to be a dad, I recommend finding the media that fits you best.  I am an avid reader, but the father-to-be books just didn't do it for me.  Much of the information covered areas I have no interest in, such as having the child at home, and when I came to these passages, I started flipping past them, feeling as though the books were not helping me prepare.

However, being the visual person that I am, I was able to get the cerebral effect I was seeking in watching the videos I mentioned, and I feel better prepared to be a dad.  Again.