...the dad’s dilemma

IT’S pretty much the norm for husbands to be at antenatal classes and the birth.

But there are probably more men than will admit it who’d choose not to be in the delivery room at all, or would much prefer to be by their partner’s head than at the business end when she’s in labour. And I quite understand why a man wouldn’t necessarily want to watch while a woman has a cut in her vagina – it’s called an episiotomy – to help the baby’s delivery. It’s a good idea for couples to discuss this honestly before the event. Quite a few women choose to have female support when they’re giving birth and that’s fine, too.

My husband Simon was at the birth of all our children and cut every cord. He adores his girls and has started his own Instagram account, Father Of Daughters, which has nearly half a million followers.