Caught by Grandma
by Sheri Wallace

Lisa Hartjes felt that her pregnancy with her son Donovan was a miracle and wanted the birth experience to be very meaningful. "I wanted Donovan's birth to be special for my husband, and what better way than to have him be involved in such an important moment. After all, he was integral in our son's creation, so why not in his arrival in the world?"

Nancy Koerber, CPM, discusses this with many couples at their first prenatal visit. "We give this option at the very beginning of the pregnancy and then wait until the moment of birth to see if the dads will actually want to do it. Sometimes it may be too intense, or on the other hand, they may not have been planning to do this until they get wrapped up in the birth and see that it isn't as intense as they imagined."

Defining parenthood

Mara Berkley-Straus felt it was almost a necessity that John, her husband, catch her baby Justin Michael. "I thought it was very moving to have John taking care of me; he was the one person I trusted above all others. I know that participating in the birth brought him closer to the actual experience of giving birth. In a sense, we birthed Justin Michael together." Justin Michael is now 11, and has known the details of his birth since he first viewed the video. "I showed Justin Michael the video tape of his birth when he was 6. I believe that it meant more to him to know Dad was part of that and it set the tone for our whole parenting relationship. He is already 11, but still likes lying down between us and snuggling."