Nurse Dani: Labor and Delivery for Dads

Salt Lake City — (KUTV) Going through the process of labor and delivery is not only mind blowing and life altering for women, it is for dads too!

Nurse Dani from Intermountain Moms visited Fresh Living and said that often times the blood and needles can get the best of the guys and they have many dads-to-be passing out in the delivery room.

So how can you make the delivery of your new baby a good experience for both partners? Nurse Dani offers these suggestions:

Remember this acronym: DADS

D: Don't be tough! Even if you think that you're tough and won't be affected by blood or needles, it gets to the best of them! Some dads think that they're less manly if they get queasy and decide it's a good idea to tough it out and not say anything. Bad idea! Speak up and tell someone. If you don't, you'll wake up with nurses hovering over you. That is WAY more embarrassing! Tell us up front if you are afraid of passing outthat way, we'll be prepared to watch you closely. We have dads pass out all the time. I do have a few stories . (the one who started to pass out and got thrown against the wall and assisted slowly to the ground, the one who fell and was in the hospital for multiple days for a head injurywe take it seriously!)

A: Ask questions. If you have concerns, don't hesitate to ask the nurse or doctor. We want to educate both moms AND dads so that you leave with an accurate understand of what happened. Perception is reality for you. For example, a lot of dads are alarmed when their baby comes out purple or blue. They call their family afterwards and tell a very dramatic version of what happened because it was scary. The reality is though that all babies come out blue. That's normal. Knowing that will alleviate your fear about it.

D: Dine You need to eat while your wife or girlfriend is in labor. Some dads feel the need to sacrifice and take one for the team by not eating, but that is not smart. You need to keep your blood sugar up. Remember that even though she isn't eating, she's getting fluids, electrolytes and sugar through the IV. You don't have one of those.

S: Sleep Rest or sleep when your partner is sleeping, which will definitely happen if she gets an epidural.

Follow Nurse Dani on facebook.com/intermountainmoms