Your partner's changing body
As 'B-day' draws nearer, many men have a growing desire to find out more about the labour and birth and possibly how to care for their new baby. In more recent years partners have become increasingly relied upon to provide some level of support during labour and birth and tend to have a more 'hands on' role with early parenting. You may choose to find information by reading books, attending antenatal classes or talking with other fathers (and of course browsing this site). You may also start to plan and talk about what is important to you and your partner for the labour and what she may expect from you. Some men are very eager to learn all that they can, while others are happy to 'learn as they go' in a sense.
It is also common to start making more contact with other men who are fathers during the pregnancy. These may be friends, family members or even work colleagues. You may be able to find some common ground with others when doing antenatal classes, or you may like to network and share how you are feeling by visiting our
birthtalks discussion boards. This can help you find out how other men feel about supporting their partner and being at the birth of their children and how they dealt with the early weeks of parenting.
Your partner's changing body
As your baby grows so will your partner's body, as her belly swells with life to nurture your child. How she feels about her body changes and how you feel about her body can be similar or very different. However, your individual attitudes and feelings can impact on how you both physically and emotionally communicate with each other.
Some pregnant women like their belly and feel beautiful, strong and sensual during pregnancy while others feel unsure or unhappy, seeing themselves as 'fat and unattractive'. It is fairly common for most pregnant woman to worry about how their partner sees them, often wondering if they still find them attractive and desirable.