A few months ago, a French obstetrician suggested that if fathers really wanted to help their partners in the delivery room, they would just stay away. They may think they are helping, Dr. Michael Odent said, but they are probably only making the mothers stressed, slowing their production of the hormone oxytocin, which results in a prolonged labor and an increased risk of cesarean section. Whether this is true is the subject of much debate, but even if it is, the argument misses a key reason for the increase in the percentage of fathers in the delivery room. They are there to support the mothers, yes, but they are also there for themselves. Josh Tyson says he believes this. His second son was born a few months ago, and today he describes the dad’s-eye view of birth. He found new emotional depths in that room, he writes — the deep joy of meeting his son, the deep awe of watching his wife. The Performance by Josh Tyson I’ve seen a man pull a line of boxcars with his teeth. I’ve watched a friend light his chest on fire and let another friend hop over his flaming torso on a skateboard. I’ve seen an actor on ”Deadwood” very convincingly pretend to pass kidney stones. None of this even comes close to the awesome experience of seeing my wife, Nicole, give birth. She has done it twice now. The first time was in January 2008, when she was pregnant with our son Elias. She began having contractions early on a Sunday morning, but following the advice of doctors we waited to go to the hospital until later that night, when her contractions were minutes apart. In the interim, we packed an overnight bag, ran several errands and went to see “There Will Be Blood.” While I was impressed with Daniel Day-Lewis’s artful displays of brute force throughout that movie, several hours later, I saw a bend of will and determination I had never encountered (there was also blood). My wife passed on an epidural and spent several hours battling contractions on a birthing ball.

Original Source of Dads in the Delivery Room and One Man’s Story