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Partners
Your partner is pregnant. Her body is now shared with another human being, and is undergoing immense changes. She’ll be making changes to her lifestyle and diet, and, depending on her pre-pregnancy lifestyle, missing out on some of the things you used to enjoy doing together. Will you be making any changes of your own, to support her?
Some dads are better at this than others: Some give up drinking (and even smoking) in sympathy with their pregnant partner. Some are happy to make some adjustments to their diets, and even make an effort to find out which foods are pregnancy no-nos.
Other expecting parents tackle it differently. Perhaps mom is happy for her partner to spend some time at the pub with his mates, or for him to smoke outside in the garden. After all, he’s not pregnant. Or is he?
There are plenty of articles written about lifestyle risks for expectant moms, but dads seem to be let off the hook. After conception, the expectant father’s role may just be limited to helping choose a name and going to classes to learn how to be a birth partner. It’s assumed that his lifestyle choices won’t impact too much on the development of the baby.
Apart from smoking, a dad’s behaviour isn’t likely to have any physical effect on the developing baby, but, in the interests of being involved and supportive of his partner, maybe there are ways in which dad’s behaviour may change in order to offer his partner emotional support.
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What would you do in support of your pregnant partner?
Some dads are better at this than others: Some give up drinking (and even smoking) in sympathy with their pregnant partner. Some are happy to make some adjustments to their diets, and even make an effort to find out which foods are pregnancy no-nos.
Other expecting parents tackle it differently. Perhaps mom is happy for her partner to spend some time at the pub with his mates, or for him to smoke outside in the garden. After all, he’s not pregnant. Or is he?
There are plenty of articles written about lifestyle risks for expectant moms, but dads seem to be let off the hook. After conception, the expectant father’s role may just be limited to helping choose a name and going to classes to learn how to be a birth partner. It’s assumed that his lifestyle choices won’t impact too much on the development of the baby.
Apart from smoking, a dad’s behaviour isn’t likely to have any physical effect on the developing baby, but, in the interests of being involved and supportive of his partner, maybe there are ways in which dad’s behaviour may change in order to offer his partner emotional support.
Want more? Follow Parent24 on Twitter!
What would you do in support of your pregnant partner?
