Childbirth: Why expectant men fear the labour ward

A pregnant woman in pain. (Courtesy)

When Duncan was expecting his first child two years ago, he had heard several "horror" stories of what transpires in the labour ward. These stories were enough to make him craft an 'exit' strategy and avoid accompanying his wife during childbirth.

"I was told of how I will take lonely walks in the corridors of the hospital just wearing off floor tiles," he recalls in amusement. "I was also told that I would hear screaming women in various stages of labour, cursing the one who made them pregnant. I was told of how my wife will grip my hand to the point of breaking it. I dreaded the moment."