We’ve seen the old movies and sitcoms where the expectant father nervously paces in the waiting room the nurse steps in and proclaims “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!”  Said father then hands out the cigars and receives ’attaboy’ pats on the back.

According to leading obstetrician, Michel Odent those ”father in the waiting room” days should return. He thinks fathers in the delivery room hinder rather than help the mother with labor and believes the experience can also have negative repercussions down the road.

Read the article here. Thanks to Cribsheeter, Becky for alerting us to this story.

Personally, I bristled when I read this. Having my husband in the delivery rooms both times was amazing. I needed him for strength and support the first time with a difficult delivery. And, I will never forget his big fat happy tears that fell on my shoulder when the doctor proclaimed “It’s a girl!” with my easier second delivery. This was a shared experience and I can not imagine him not being there to witness our children entering the world and hearing our them cry for the first time.

But this may not be the case for everyone. 

What are your thoughts? Waiting room or Delivery room? Anyone have experiences to share either way?

Josephine Marcotty’s Bodytalk post today reminded me of just about every pregnancy appointment. Wow! Have you seen them around town?

Relationships reporter, Gail Rosenblum is working on an article and would like to tap from our vast base of parents and their anecdotes.  The topic this time? Gender determination and wive’s tales -  here is Gail’s query:

When you were planning to get pregnant, what is the funniest thing someone told you about how to make sure you got the girl or boy you were hoping for? Was it something you should eat? A certain sexual position? And how accurate was that prediction? We might like to use your story in an upcoming Source article, so please include your full name, age, city of residence and a daytime email or phone number. Thank you!

You can reach Gail @ grosenblum@startribune.com
 

Remember that silly animation of the dancing baby that was whizzing around everyone’s e-mail a few years ago?

Well, this’ll top it and it’s actually real. It’s a 3-D ultrasound of a baby wiggling in the womb - pretty incredible stuff and certainly more detail than I saw in the grainy black-and-white images my ultrasound technician produced (and which two years later, are still stuck to our refrigerator door).

Josephine Marcotty on our sister blog Bodytalk writes about the husband-and-wife team radiologists at Harvard who wrote the book “Your Developing Baby.”

Does a pregnant woman’s diet and appetite help determine the gender of their baby?  Studies say there may be a correlation. 

Read the article here.

Hmmm, I was pretty much hungry all the time with both pregnancies and I had one of each. Cereal (mmmm… Peanut Butter Bumpers) was my craving  for many a meal. Oh,  and meat.

Does the study ring true for you?