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7. WE DID IT: Together in Delivery and Birthing Rooms
- The University of North Carolina Press
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7 * We did iT Together in Delivery and Birthing Rooms In 1973, Representative Martha Wright Griffiths (d-mi, 1955–74) introduced a bill in the U.S. Congress to allow biological fathers to attend the birth of their children. Congressional attention to the subject indicated that fathers attending the birth of their children had become an issue of national importance but was not yet a common reality. By the middle of the 1980s, the contentiousness of the topic finally resolved into a new standard practice in American hospitals. The new practice evolved with the help of various court cases, the women’s movement, and childbirth reformers—including significant continuing active participation by the fathers. By the mid-1980s, most hospitals in the United States welcomed fathers into delivery rooms, and many actually pressured the men to attend the momentous event. As hospital practices evolved to allow fathers to participate more closely in the births of their children, cultural depictions mirrored the changing experience. The popular television show All in the Family addressed Americans’ growing interest in natural childbirth and men’s place with their wives during laborand delivery. For fiveyears during the 1970s, We did iT * 237 the show was the top-ranked television series. It dealt with timely and controversial issues including race, homosexuality, and women’s liberation . In an episode titled “Mike’s Pains,” which aired on October 6, 1975, liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic, usually pitted against conservative Archie Bunker, this time faced his own traditional bent. His wife,Gloria (Archie’s daughter), was pregnant and planning a natural childbirth. Archie had a conversation with the young couple: arChie: I understand that fathers are not supposed to be in the delivery room! Jesus, even doctors are not supposed to be in there. That’s why they wear those masks. Gloria: Daddy, you’re being very silly. Michael’s looking forward to this, aren’t you honey? mike: Right. arChie: I’m warning you, you’ll pass out in there. Did you ever see them snip an umbiblical [sic] cord? Archie Bunker has a conversation with his daughter, Gloria, and son-in-law, Mike, telling them he thinks laymen do not belong in the delivery room. When Mike seems to agree, Gloria protests. All in the Family, “Mike’s Pains,” October 6, 1975. All in the Family, © 1971, 2008 elP Communications, Sony Pictures Television. [3.237.91.98] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 21:53 GMT) 238 * We did iT Gloria: Would you stop trying to scare him. Michael can’t wait for the baby to be born can you? mike: Right. arChie: Well you two are crazy. . . . The whole world is going to hell in a bucket. mike: Ah, well, to be perfectly honest with you, I, uh, I never. I don’t know how I’m going to react, I’ve never been in a delivery room before. Gloria: Neither have I! mike: Yeah, but you’ll be there for a reason, me I’ll just be standin’ around getting in everybody’s way. arChie: Get in the way in there, and you’re liable to lose an organ or something. . . . mike: . . . To tell you the truth, I don’t think I can be in the room when you deliver. Gloria: You didn’t mind being in the room with me when you placed the order! Now you want to back out.1 As it did with other pressing social issues of the period, All in the Family faced fathers’ fears and ambivalences about an increasingly popular middle-class American trend. The show’s message was that men should overcome their fears for their wives’ sake.2 Practices Still in Flux A 1970 survey of California hospitals by county revealed how varied practices were at the beginning of the decade. In twenty-two hospitals in two counties, for example, five did not allow husbands at all; one allowed husbands to watch the delivery through a window; and three had policies that allowed husbands in only with special permission. Another five hospitals routinely allowed fathers into delivery, while five more said it was becoming a more frequent occurrence. The remaining three allowed it occasionally. Many hospitals apparently did not encourage the fathers to attend but also did not fight them when they insisted; the Bay Area Chapter of the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics noted in We did iT * 239 1970: “Policies are changing with demand.” French Hospital in San Francisco , trying to discourage couples...