This summer Sarem hospital in Tehran became the first in Iran to allow a father inside a delivery room during the birth of his child. “Now a custom long seen as a sign of western social progress is being adopted in the conservative setting of Iran,” journalist Robert Tait writes in The Guardian (July 23, 2007).
Dr. Abutaleb Sarem, a western-trained specialist obstetrician and medical director is making an effort to persuade more women to have natural childbirth. In Iran, 70% of babies are born by caesarean section, a procedure with high risks of infection and other serious side effects. Doctors find that the presence of the father calms the mother’s fears and the support helps make a natural birth easier.
Our expert, Laura E. Berk, professor of developmental psychology, Illinois State University, weighs in:
Iran’s sky-high cesarean rate is believed to be an outgrowth of the country’s Islamic revolution, which required women to cover their bodies in Islamic dress. They focused on beautifying what remained visible—their faces—and opted for “nose jobs” in record numbers. A new generation receptive to elective surgery arose in which C-sections became routine, a trend supported by the procedure’s affordability. In Iran, the surgery costs only slightly more than a vaginal delivery.
Needless C-sections, however, pose risks. Although the surgery itself is safe, mother and baby require extra time for recovery. Anesthetic often crosses the placenta, making newborns sleepy and unresponsive and placing some at risk for breathing difficulties. These factors can make a cesarean newborn more difficult to care for, with potential negative effects on the early parent-infant bond.
Alarmed by the high cesarean rate, the Iranian government recently initiated media campaigns that inform the public of health risks. The time has grown ripe in Iran to draw women away from routine C-sections toward natural childbirth, with the incentive of a peak life experience. Because men, including husbands, are banned from delivery rooms in Iranian hospitals, Dr. Sarem’s achievement—a father supporting the mother during childbirth—is truly a landmark event.
Social support—the presence of a trained, caring companion who encourages, touches, and promotes relaxation—is crucial to the success of natural childbirth techniques. It is linked to a shorter labor, fewer birth complications, higher Apgar scores (a rating of the newborn’s physical condition), and more positive interaction between mother and baby. Continuous—rather than intermittent—social support strengthens these favorable outcomes.
A father’s early interaction with his baby is also beneficial. Most fathers are overjoyed at the arrival of their son or daughter, describe the experience as “awesome” and “unforgettable,” are intensely interested in the newborn child, and touch, look at, talk to, and kiss the newborn as much as mothers do. And as with mothers, certain hormonal changes in fathers, which are triggered by the presence of the newborn, help foster their involvement and sensitivity.
In sum, when fathers participate in natural childbirth, mothers recover more quickly from the birth experience and are more effective newborn caregivers. And paternal contact with the baby in the minutes and hours after birth may be one of several factors that help build a good father–infant relationship.
