Just for Partners
Being the partner of a pregnant woman is a difficult job! We know that you are experiencing a lot of emotions during this time, including joy, worry, and perhaps even fear about the future, the birth process, and how your relationship will change after the baby comes. Many partners feel that they can’t take the time they need to explore their own emotions and fears about birth and parenting, since so much of the focus is on the expectant mother. But you need to take time for yourself as well, to learn as much as you can about pregancy, birth, and parenting, to discuss your fears and concerns, and to take care of yourself! After all, no one can be a good partner or parent if they don’t first take good care of themselves.
In the future, the Triangle Birth Network hopes to plan community events geared specifically for birth partners, to provide a forum for you to express your hopes and concerns in a safe place with others who know what you are going through. For now, we hope that the following resources will help you to navigate this time:
Books:
- The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin
- The Bloke’s Guide to Pregnancy by Jon Smith
- Confessions of the Other Mother: Non-Biological Lesbian Mothers Tell All by Harlyn Aizley
Online resources:
- Article on “Dads and Doulas” by DONA International
- Online discussion forum for dads on Mothering.com, a natural family living website
- “A Stay-At-Home-Dads Meetup Group in the Triangle”
- Triangle Families, an organization for gay and lesbian parents and their families
- Father’s Journal, an online literary journal on fathering written by a father
Classes: