Comments on: Michel Odent and fathers at the birth

By: midwifemuse

midwifemuse — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:07:28 +0000

Davide – I’m just wondering why fathers have problems with attachment nowadays, when a couple of decades ago they were not involved at all antenatally and took far more of a ‘back-seat’ during the labour than they do now?
I cannot speak for the whole of UK midwifery regarding Dad’s being included antenatally but in my area fathers are welcome to come to clinic appointments, either midwife or doctor, and are expected at classes.
Maternity services are under seige at the moment and tough budgetry decisions are being made. Personally I feel that it is more important that there are enough clinicians and resources to provide safe care for women and babies, both in hospital and at home, than to use precious monies on making dads feel more included. I would imagine that any caring partner/father would feel the same.
In an ideal world, where there was no financial pressure on the NHS, midwives would be able to offer appointments at times to suit and classes to fulfil individuals requirements. I’m not happy with the way maternity services are going, and I’m certainly not happy with the expectations government departments engender in the population whilst not providing the resourses to satisfy them. It’s us, on the ground, who bear the brunt of patients disappointment whilst bending over backward to gloss over the gaps in the service.

By: Davide

Davide — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:20:48 +0000

we seem to missing something…..father also is there as part of adjusting to parenthood and is importnat to attachment with the baby and mother also. The pitiful examples of fathers being obtrusive are often due to poor midwifery and preparation as dads are usually left out at antenatal stage despite midwives having guidelines for engaing them in ‘maternity matters’ and the child health promotion programme. Little wonder that so many dads are disengaged with this clap trap insight from Michel Odent who is living in the old age.

By: midwifemuse

midwifemuse — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:09:54 +0000

Laureen – Interesting comment in view of the discussion on ‘Fetal distress’. Will Dr Odent refute the article publically?

By: Laureen

Laureen — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:54:45 +0000

For what it’s worth, a friend contacted Dr. Odent about this article directly, and he says he was misquoted. So while it’s an interesting discussion starter, it’s not representative of Dr. Odent’s opinions, more the reporter’s.

By: midwifemuse

midwifemuse — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:13:24 +0000

Kathy – I suppose it must affect men initially anyway, just being cautious about causing damage possibly? I used to have an angle-poise lamp, wonderful, but then Health and Safety told me I shouldn’t be plugging any of my own equipment into a patient’s electrical supply in case it caused a problem.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:36:59 +0000

Well, she did have one of those “miner’s lamps”, and she had a doula/midwife assistant too. I can’t remember right now why it was necessary for him to be there too — I think because of the way I tore, the assistant had to help her and couldn’t hold the light, and I don’t know why the headlamp wasn’t good enough (perhaps the batteries were too low?). He was pretty cool about it all, but I wonder if the change in sex-related things I noticed was due to that. Or it could just be that “life happened” — tired with a baby waking up throughout the night, etc. He’s said that seeing me like that didn’t negatively affect him, but I wonder….

By: midwifemuse

midwifemuse — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:14:00 +0000

Kathy – I would have hated that, Hubby standing there, able to see what it looked like. I feel sorry for both of you because I’m sure he didn’t really want to have to pay attention to the midwife’s task but to keep the site lit he had to look. I have one of those lights that is on your forehead so I can usually just get on. If I don’t use it I still don’t get the other half to hold it as there are always 2 midwives at a homebirth.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:46:20 +0000

I think my first birth changed my husband's view of me sexually -- at least for a while. It was a planned home birth, and I had a 2nd-degree tear. Because of the way I tore and the lighting in the room, my husband had to hold a flashlight so that the midwife could see what she was doing. But I am still glad he was there; and he missed our second son's birth entirely, which I deeply regret. Kathy

By: midwifemuse

midwifemuse — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:32:02 +0000

Cartside – We operate ‘team midwifery’ but we each have our own G.P’s surgery that we cover, so women generally only meet one of us also my G.P’s only see pregnant women twice during their pregnancies.
Interesting system in Germany, sounds quite similar to New Zealand. Friend of mine is midwife in NZ and initially she thought system was good but problems re. the funding arose if the woman required transfer to consultant care, extra investigations etc. I wonder how women choose their midwife, what qualities they look for, expect alot is decided by recommendation.

By: cartside

cartside — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:48:57 +0000

Well, to a certain extent yes, but I also have to say had I known my midwife before and had had a chance to discuss my birth preferences, fear of a c-section and epidural, she would have been the person I needed (although I still would have wanted hubby to be there too). But you don’t know and you don’t want to be with a total stranger in such a situation. I was also lucky in that the midwife observed stage of my labour was from 9am – 4pm and I had the same midwife start to finish. Don’t know how I would have felt about a change of staff in the final stages.

Strangely in my health centre in Glasgow, although there was a team of midwives, I only ever saw one midwife in antenatal appointments (and more often than her, I saw a GP) and didn’t get to know the whole team as promised (the idea being that you don’t meet the midwife who delivers your baby first time in hospital).

Incidentally, in Germany you can “employ” a midwife – i.e. you pay a certain amount to choose the NHS equivalent midwife who will be delivering the baby. A very popular practice. Not the same as independent midwives (as they are employed by the hospital and the fee is much more affordable). Almost all my German friends did this, but you have to be very organised as you need to “interview” midwives early on in pregnancy to make sure they can accommodate you. It’s not private, but an interesting practice when resources provided by general Health Insurance (no NHS in Germany) services aren’t resourced to allow such a service. Sorry for long comments, it’s a very interesting topic!