Having a pregnant wife can be a stressful time for both the husband and the wife. While the wife bears the brunt of pregnancy’s trials, hubbies also get bogged down as they have not gone through the same before. As most of the present day couples seem to be coming from a nuclear family, the onus of taking care of the pregnant woman at home rests solely on the husband and he gets stressed. After the elation of finding out wife’s pregnancy, the husband finds himself pondering whether everything he has heard about babies is true.But being a responsible husband, wouldn’t you like to ease the burden off your spouse during this high-stress period? City Express spoke to the experts and found out how to tackle the stress as far as would-be dads are concerned.“I fully agree with the fact that would-be fathers are a very stressed lot. There are several reasons for the same.First they have a demanding job to attend to and a pregnant wife to cater. The changing lifestyle of the pregnant woman in terms of her food and sleep also gets these hubbies stressed out. The hubbies originating from the joint family system are a happier lot in this respect as he has his in-laws to do all the necessary pampering,” says Gayathri Kamath, Consultant Gynaecologist, Fortis Hospital.But are counselling sessions beneficial for wouldbe dads? “The would-be fathers of today need a whole lot of counselling. We are seeing a positive trend among to-be fathers – they are involved in the entire process of pregnancy to labour. That shows the couple is nurturing a good and healthy relationship which is the primary foundation for good parenthood.We as health care providers, need to do a good job of scientifically explaining the basis behind our antenatal services we provide and answer patiently all the queries which they harbour in their mind. Men prove to be the best partners in labour,” informs Dr Gayathri.Exercise is another way for a husband by which he could de-stress himself. Taking long walks with one’s wife is an excellent choice. The scenery would relax her and your companionship would do wonders for your relationship as well as yourself.“The to-be fathers need to participate actively in their antenatal check ups, participate in the workout classes if any and be around if willing to do so even in the labour ward as they realise the values of parenthood. They are also good morale boosters for their labouring wives,” says Gayathri.She further reminds, “A pregnant woman needs to eat healthy and not double her amount of eating just because she is pregnant.” But the stress bursting mantra for the couple has to be initiated by the would-be father. Experts feel that spending some quality time with pregnant wives and trying to listen to their set of problems without brushing it aside as something very trivial, can do wonders.
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