Mrs RunDaddy wrote:
That a man could even contemplate running while his wife was going into labor...the narcissism on this thread is quite breathtaking
Sure, because the husband/father's presence is so vital? Aren't there doctors and nurses to handle everything that needs to be handled for delivery? Laymen are expendable, their presence helps no one.
I'm not sure if it is narcissistic for men to think of running while their wife is labour.
There was once this great post by a woman runner who went for a run after her waters had broken but before contractions had begun. She was worried about missing a run that day. Contractions began during her run, but she carried on and then had the baby on the bathroom floor when she got home.
Why not? I was sneaking in a run while she conceived.
I knew a researcher who did a treadmill max test on his wife 2 days prior to delivery and 2 days after delivery. We never forgave him for that one (she was tough and did fine)
HRE - your story actually is quite reasonable. Given the chaos that can occur with a birth, and with help there, it was a good idea to look out for your own needs (while checking in every 10 minutes).
My wife was in labor for 24 hours with our first - difficult birth - no running that day - and wish I had run a few miles just to de-stress the night before when my mother in law was supervising (as she always does) affairs.
What happened to the good old days when the husband was relegated to the waiting room, pacing back & forth smoking cigarettes? It's only a recent development that, as Dave Barry wrote, "it's become a federal law that the husband must be present in the delivery room."
No, I did not get in a run. But I did my usual situps and pushups on the floor of the hospital room while my wife was lying in bed in labor. A nurse came in and I'm sure she thought I was crazy.
JimG wrote:
What happened to the good old days when the husband was relegated to the waiting room, pacing back & forth smoking cigarettes? It's only a recent development that, as Dave Barry wrote, "it's become a federal law that the husband must be present in the delivery room."
JimG,
I have to agree with you on this point. I have 4 kids and was in the delivery room for the first 3 (the 4th i missed because I was overseas). Being in the delivery room was a very stressful, upsetting thing for me and I'm pretty sure it did not ease my wife's pain and suffering one bit. I even got suckered into taking that la maz(?) course before the first and none of that crap worked when the going got tough. My wife took no drugs on the last three, so she got the full monty when it comes to childbirth.
I'm convinced that getting men into the delivery room was a cruel joke perpetuated by the women's movement. Watching your wife in agony somehow diminishes the joy of witnessing the 'miracle of birth.' I got it that it is a miracle of nature - I don't need to watch it.
My first daughter was born in a maternity hospital which didn't allow the fathers or anyone to remain in the hospital (1965)while the mother was in labor. I had a track meet in a couple of weeks and knew that I wouldn't be able to work out before the meet. So, rather than sitting by the phone, I went to the track and did 5x800 meters. Right after I got out of the shower, the phone rang. It was the doctor telling me that my wife had just delivered and I could return to the hospital to see them. I didn't get to workout for the next two weeks but had a pretty good meet anyway.
practicalist wrote:
Mrs RunDaddy wrote:That a man could even contemplate running while his wife was going into labor...the narcissism on this thread is quite breathtaking
Sure, because the husband/father's presence is so vital? Aren't there doctors and nurses to handle everything that needs to be handled for delivery? Laymen are expendable, their presence helps no one.
You've never had children. If you had children, you'd realize how utterly rediculous your statement is.
I'm a father of two, and I was there for both. I have zero respect for any father who thinks their run is more important than helping the mother of their children get through labor.
Bitterman. wrote:
Why not? I was sneaking in a run while she conceived.
What was the workout? 6 inch repeats?
let me guess wrote:
You've never had children. If you had children, you'd realize how utterly rediculous your statement is.
I'm a father of two, and I was there for both. I have zero respect for any father who thinks their run is more important than helping the mother of their children get through labor.
What, exactly, did you do big guy? Spare no detail, don't leave out all you did to help.
Ahhhh. That takes me back. I just got home from dropping my 5 year old daughter off after my Saturday visitation and decided to sit down and look at Let's Run. Yeah, about five years ago I did that - ran a pr marathon one month later. That was the happiest day of my life when I finally broke four hours in my mary.
Bitterman. wrote:
Why not? I was sneaking in a run while she conceived.
POD! POD!
Being in the delivery room has little to do with being a good father or husband.
HRE wrote:
My wife went into early labor with our first son on the night of Dec. 16, 1991.
It seems like you posted this many many years ago and I posted the same response. But I could be wrong.
Our oldest son, age 11, died in a car accident Dec. 12 and his funeral was on Mon. Dec. 16, 1991. One dies and one is born.
notice that neither of us realized she was in labor while I was running, since she'd never had a child before and the descriptions of labor and contractions were extremely vague. It was not, shall we say, as dramatic as on tv.
But seriously there are three things: first, if your doctors and nurses and all aren't complete jerks like those at beth israel in new york city, the delivery is (would have been) one of the great moments of your life and to miss that would be sad. second, if the woman's life and that of the baby don't mean everything to you, you made a mistake somewhere along the way. third, you are an unbelievable wimp if you stop running (an activity that takes a maximum of two hours a day) during the period surrounding that day.
One wife labor story (kids are older, and i'm more mature).
1. Wife wants to shop. We park the car and agree to meet up later. I run to a friend's house nearby to watch a game and smoke one. She goes into labor while in the restroom of a department store. I get a call after I inhale from someone using her cell phone. I take another drag and run back to the shopping center, slowly walk wife back to the car, get in, drive to the hospital.
One 6 degrees of separation story.
2. Wife wants me to pace her for the last 1/2 of marathon. She had left early to get to the race and I stayed behind to wait for the sitter (2 kids later). Sitter comes, I know I can't find decent parking so late into the start of the race, but guess what? The friend from the story above lives along the race route. I go to his place, park my car, take a couple of drags, to a warmup and call my wife to locate her on the route. The photo of us running together is on the wall in our hallway. Behind my sunglasses is a secret few know.
practicalist wrote:
What, exactly, did you do big guy? Spare no detail, don't leave out all you did to help.
I'll state again that you haven't got the slightest clue about the process of labor and childbirth.
This thread is about being there during your wife's labor. Do you even know what labor is? Babies don't just pop out when they're done (I'm assuming you already knew the stork story is a fraud). Mothers go through hours of progressively more frequent and painful contractions before childbirth. Doctors generally don't even bother showing up during the labor period. Nurses stop by periodically to make sure everything's OK, but that's it. The rest of the time it's just the mother to be and whoever is there to help her focus on her breathing exercises and whatever method's she uses to cope with the pain.
A decent husband takes childbirth prep classes with his wife so he can learn to help her get through this period.
Now, it sounds like you and 800 dude are confusing labor with the delivery itself. Certainly there's little a father can do then. Step out then if you wish. The delivery itself will last 30 minutes or less, compared to hours of labor.
I sneak in a run while my wife is at work all the time.