Friday, October 16, 2009

Fathers to Be, Do You Take Them for Granted?

Once a week I blog about the Controversies in Childbirth Conference. Today is the day. Imagine in the labor room, a person who is not a patient and is not even a relative. This person is a guest of your patient. This person may have even come to a few prenatal visits with your patient; you don't even know this person's name. When you deliver the baby, this person’s status has changed. This person now has the right to make demands. This person has the right to file a lawsuit against you even if you're patient says no. This person is" "the baby's father." Birth care providers such as obstetricians, nurses, midwives, doulas, childbirth educators, even administrators believe that they are treating the father of the baby GREAT, but how do they really know? The patient gets the survey, not the father. The patient (baby’s mother) goes back for six weeks of follow-up visits, but not the father. The patient has a total support system, from hospital follow-up to mothers and mothers-in-law's, but not the father. Patrick Houser, the author of: "The Fathers to Be Handbook" will present a half day workshop on Thursday, September 18th, where he will go over what fathers encounter, how they feel, what the perception is, what they want and how you, the birth care professional can benefit by accommodating them. Did you know that the greatest single variable for the success of pregnancy, birth and breast-feeding is the father? You will learn that when fathers are supportive women have a better chance of remaining low risk . Further, when fathers to be (and fathers postpartum) are treated well, the risk of a lawsuit is substantially diminished. Often the father is the instigator in a med-mal suit, sometimes in conflict with the mother's wishes. This workshop will have a definitive impact on your bottom line, as well as reducing obstacles in your practice. Go to www.birthconference.org to register for the conference and workshop. Have a great weekend. Alan

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