Author(s): David Vernon (Trinity College, Dublin, Republic of Ireland)

Parenting/Adolescence

MEN AT BIRTH is a unique collection of stories from Australian men about the birth of their children. The stories range from the humorous to the highly emotional. Many men are bewildered put off or just plain scared by the idea of childbirth. Birth is one area of life where husbands and male partners do not have much control of what is going on. They may be left feeling helpless in their ability to assist their partner in one of the most significant moment of both their lives. All these factors can leave men feeling very out of place awkward and sometimes downright useless! However these beautifully written stories about birth dispel many of the fears men have around birth and encourage and guide men in ways they can be of most assistance both practically and emotionally during the big event. The stories in MEN AT BIRTH cover a range of birth experiences such as home births hospital births surgical births and births where postnatal depression was a factor.