Men who have witnessed childbirth: has it changed the way you perceive women?

I’m a girl, but can I answer anyway?

I was at the birth of my friend’s son and quite honestly, I told her after seeing what she could tolerate, I never wanted to hear her whine about petty shit ever again.

I witnessed the birth of both of my kids.
I was touched by the event, obviously, but it didn’t change my perception of women.

@Imadethisupwithnoforethought Care to answer this one yourself?

@chyna I have seen five total: My four, which included a set of twins, and I volunteered to go with a female friend whose boyfriend skipped town when I was much younger. I might skew the results.

Not at all. It actually made me even more impressed.

Watched the births of my daughters. Even though I knew the process, it was amazing to watch, and I found myself more in awe of my wife than ever.

I watched the birth of my two children…. Uh, watched? No, that does not begin to describe it. I think you could say that I ran a marathon while trying to help my wife give birth to the kids. And if I was running a marathon, how many did my wife run? Ten to my one?

It was a lot of work. I massaged and I walked and I got drenched (when she needed me in the shower next to her and I was still clothed) and I cajoled and encouraged and still, in the end, it took the midwife threatening her with induction to get her to push out our first. The next time she had had it with natural birth. Drugs all the way! That was a lot easier. On both of us.

But did the experience change the way I perceive women? Not that I can imagine. Should it have? What are you going for here? We do what we do in order to get through the day. We try our hardest. We expect the most. This is the same before and after childbirth.

hmmmm… not really changed my perception of women. But being there to cut the chord on two boys was enough to change both mother’s perception of me.

btw… that umbilical chord is a tough cookie. like a rope that needs a couple slices to get through it. big surprise both times i cut it off…

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies considering the job requirements (provide nutrients to child no matter what the conditions) aren’t you glad that cord is tough?

It is true. They give you this fancy bent medical shears and you saw and saw and wonder what the hell you are doing wrong. If a mother ever wanted to play a nasty trick on the father, she would let out a surprised yelp at this moment. Fortunately, she’s generally otherwise preoccupied.

No doubt @Wundy, you know those med shears are super sharp, and still have trouble making the cut. That would be freaking hilarious if mommy screamed when it happened.