Gone are the days when future dads waited in the hallway pacing their companion to life. Today, more and more of them are getting involved throughout pregnancy. But on D-Day, it is still sometimes difficult for them to find and, above all, to take their place.

When the contractions heralding the onset of labor occur, the greatest anxiety of expectant mothers is probably not arriving on time for maternity, or in any case not being able to warn their partner. The most important thing as the term approaches is to be permanently reachable.

Registration for the maternity ward having normally been made many months earlier, all that remains is to hand over to the reception the vital card and the health insurance card of the mother-to-be, as well as her medical file (ultrasounds, report of the mother-to-be. appointment with the anesthesiologist…), and fill in a form. It can be done by the future dad or the future mom.

It is not always easy for future dads to find their place during childbirth. Some are helpless in the face of the contractions that twist their partner in pain throughout labor. Attending the birth and parenting preparation sessions together can help them feel less powerless, especially haptonomy and the Bonapace method which teach them concretely how to relieve their partner. Others are afraid of turning their eyes at the time of expulsion. Or that this phase of childbirth does not harm their libido afterwards. Others, on the contrary, are so invested that they end up, unwittingly, by irritating the future mother and the obstetric team. The best, to avoid disappointments, is to discuss together, with a rested head, well in advance of the childbirth, the way in which each one sees things. As a reminder, only one person has the right to attend childbirth. If the future dad cannot or does not want it, if the future mother prefers that he does not attend, nothing prevents entrusting this task to another close relative.

The midwife or the gynecologist usually suggests that the new daddy cut the umbilical cord that still connects the mother to her baby. A completely painless gesture of which many men appreciate the symbolic significance. But if you don’t feel like doing it, don’t force yourself. No reason to feel guilty: you will have many other opportunities to invest yourself.

In the past, the baby would take his first bath in the delivery room and this task was usually assigned to the new daddy while the newborn was resting and receiving possible care. But it is more and more frequent to wait 24 or 48 hours to bathe baby. He thus benefits a little longer from the protective virtues of vernix, a white and oily substance which covered his skin a good part of the pregnancy. It remains up to the dad, if he wishes, the task of dressing his newborn, most often guided in his actions by a childcare assistant. Previously, he may also be offered to practice skin-to-skin with baby, for example in case his mother has had a cesarean.