Annoyed about this birth announcement

[KickAssAngel]

Someone at work is currently on paternity leave. We all sent a card and a gift, and he thanked us. It's the second child.

In his thank-you, the Dad gave a brief description of the birth & how the family are doing.

It contained the line "we went in to labor"

It has really annoyed me. Probably because he's done other things that annoy me, too. But since when did men go into labor. I'm sure he was there, being as involved and caring as possible (this isn't sarcasm, he would have been very kind & supportive to his wife). But I'm equally sure that he didn't get one labor pain or have to push for even a little bit.

Wicked, I don't think your mum made that baby so it's ver different.

It all depends on how literal you insist on being. If you are talking about going into labour as contractions starting etc then it's solely about the mum. If you are talking more generally about 'the start of the babys arrival' in a more abstract WA then it's about the mum, the dad and the baby.

But let's see if we can pick this apart a bit more, I'm sure there's some technicality someone hasn't though of to get at someone else yet.....

garden
Brilliant!!!

Why do women hate men so much?

Errr they don't. They just dislike certain types of behaviour.

Why do women hate men so much? If they don't get involved there are shit on and shit on when they are involved, just because the man doesn't go through labour doesn't mean he didn't experiance it he just did a bit differently. I love when men say we are pregnant my partner did and I got butterflies every time. Maybe I'm just sad though.

^

Sorry can't do bold

What are you on about?

But he wasn't pregnant, you were. When you were pregnant did you say "we are pregnant"? I guess not, you'd say "I'm pregnant".

Hating men blah blah is just bull.

Anyway, it would be the same if it was a female partner talking about her pregnant partner. It's got nothing to do with the penis, it's the fact that HE IS NOT IN LABOUR!!!!

I remembe rRrobin William's saying that his wife told him he could only talk about "Our Labour" when he had had an umbrella opened up his arse and knew what he was talking about!!

In the nick, is it insisting on being literal to say that labour begins when contractions start?!

I have only ever heard anyone mention labour when they're referring to, well, labour. Nobody ever uses labour to mean conception or pregnancy more broadly.

If I were in the middle of having sex with DH and I started proclaiming that I or we had gone into labour, he wouldn't think oh, almond has a very relaxed attitude to using words literally, he'd just think I was completely and utterly mental.

The idea that people who don't think shagging is part of labour are getting hung up on a technicality is one of the funniest things I've read on MN.

Now you mention it Almond , the woman's mother was technically part of labour too. Because she grew the egg that conceived the baby, it was in her uterus while she carried her daughter.

So maybe she should be part of the whole " I've just had a baby " glory seeking game.

As it happened, my mum was with me for more of my labour than DH, so perhaps she should have talked about "our labour". No?

Of course not! because neither she nor DH are so ego centric that they can't put themselves to one side and say "Olenna's had a baby, her labour went really well and she was great"

Most of the really engaged dads I know when announcing the arrival of their baby immediately talked about how the mum's labour went, and how proud they were of them. It doesn't take anything away from fatherhood, or make mothers into martyrs to acknowledge that labour is uniquely female. Other people can (and should) support the labouring woman, but the experience is only hers.

Oh and if dh could have done the pregnancy and birth part of parenting we might well have more children. For me both were mostly things to be endured rather than celebrated. He has been a great and very hands on father (more than me) but when it comes down to it he is a man, and men cannot by nature of their biology bear young.

"Wicked, I don't think your mum made that baby so it's ver different."

Neither did dp though. Provided some of the ingredients, but I definitely did all the cooking iyswim lol.

"I remembe rRrobin William's saying that his wife told him he could only talk about "Our Labour" when he had had an umbrella opened up his arse and knew what he was talking about!!"
^Hahaha, this.