Going to your partner's pregnancy visits
Comment
Author Armin Brott explains the reasons why it is important to join your spouse or partner on her pregnancy visits to the doctor
80
Transcription:
You know, I hear from a lot of guys that I work with, “Why should I bother going to the early pregnancy visits? She goes in, I’ve been there, she goes in, she sits on the table and the doctor says, “Hey, how is it going?” and then she says, ‘Fine’ and that’s kind of the end of it. So what’s the point? Why waste the time?”
There’s a couple of really, really good reasons. One, very important one, is to show your partner that you are there, that you really want to be there for her, that you’re excited about becoming a dad. That’s going to mean a lot to her as the pregnancy goes on and she focuses more and more on, “Does he love me? Is he going to care about me? Is he going to be there when my body’s changing?” – all those things.
But also very important for the perspective of the dad himself is this is where stuff is going on. Pregnancy is very, very abstract. Women are vomiting and their bodies are changing. And they know perfectly well that they’re pregnant.
But for us, I remember for me, I forgot about it for a couple of weeks at a time. And then, “Whoa!” all of a sudden, “She’s pregnant. Oh! I better do something.” And so when you go to the doctor visit and you see what’s going on and you have a chance to hear the heart beat for the first time, it’s an amazing thing. Or you have a chance to see the ultrasound – you can only do these things at a doctor visit. When you have that, it really brings the pregnancy home, it makes it more your own and you’re going to be able to be a much more active participant.
And the reality is – I’ve seen this over and over again – that the more dads are involved during the pregnancy, the more they’re going to be involved after the pregnancy.
Author Armin Brott explains the reasons why it is important to join your spouse or partner on her pregnancy visits to the doctor
Related Videos
Transcript
Expert Bio
More from Expert
Armin BrottDad, Author & Radio Host
A former Marine, Armin Brott has devoted the last 15 years to providing men with the tools, support, and knowledge to help them become the fathers they want to be—and their families need them to be. His seven critically acclaimed books for fathers have sold well over a million copies. Titles include The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-Be and The New Father: A Dad’s Guide to the First Year. He has written on fatherhood for hundreds of newspapers and magazines and is a frequent guest on such television programs as the Today Show. He also writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column (Ask Mr. Dad), and hosts a syndicated radio show (Positive Parenting). He lives with his family in Oakland, California.
Login or Register to view and post comments