Fathers must get involved in childbirth!

I wonder if Keith Urban or James Packer have plans to get involved in the birth of their babies? Poor buggers - I bet as soon as their partners announced their pregnancy, every childbirth guru on the planet sent them a brochure. The fact is, even the richest man in Australia or the man married to the richest woman in Australia can't outsource the most important job in the world when it comes to the birth of their baby - the support of a loving partner.

I read that Nicole Kidman's private hospital birth later this year will cost in the region of $60,000. What? Is she giving birth in the Presidential Suite at the Sheraton? Why does a private hospital birth cost less than $10,000 for the rest of us? That's one hell of an obstetrician!

The fact is, money can't buy the value that lies in dedicated support from a loving partner. Every birthing woman needs someone who truly understands her, who'll rub her back for 9 hours non-stop, who'll let her dig her nails into his big hairy arm, who'll tell her he loves her even when she looks her most raw.

It's a daunting challenge to the uninitiated. The men who are becoming fathers today were generally born in hospitals during the 60s and 70s when their fathers were treated like creeps if they wanted to be in the delivery room. Very few blokes in their thirties and forties can say they were born at home or saw their siblings born at home. So the day they front up to the hospital to support their partner at the birth of their baby is more than likely the first time they will come face to face with childbirth.

Wouldn't I be chuffed if Keith or James showed up at the pub for one of my workshops. Beer in hand, about 15 dads a month come to find out what they need to do to support their partner through the birth. They either arrive wide eyed with a kind of "bunny in the headlights" look or with a confident swagger that says "I just got a free pass to the pub in the name of childbirth". By the end of the evening, they've been hit with more than they thought they needed to know. They thought childbirth was all about HER. Now the tables have been turned and he has an important job to do. He can make the birth easier and faster (or harder and slower if he's not paying attention) and this is a big responsibility. Whether they started the night with the confident swagger or the bunny look, they all leave looking the same - empowered, purposeful and a bit overwhelmed...