The History of American Fathers' Prohibition & Participation in Hospital Childbirth or The Remaining Three Allowed It Occasionally

Believe it or not, there was a time (from about 1920 to about 1980) that Fathers were not permitted to be present for the births of their children that took place in U.S hospitals.  Why, you you ask? Well, I'm not going to just say that here in the description, it's a bit complicated and quite frankly, I'd like you to hear this story in it's full glory. But that's not the best part. Why fathers were not permitted in hospital labor and delivery is interesting to say the least, and helps us understand the conditions of U.S childbirth leading up to and throughout the mid-twentieth century that our ancestrial mothers experienced, but the really inspiring part of this story is how fathers, mothers, doctors, nurses, magazine editors, feminists, and lawyers all fought through decades to find a way to bring families together as their children emerged into the world.

This episode took me 3 months to put together, mostly with the help of the book Make Room For Daddy: The Journey From Waiting Room to Birthing Room written by medical historian Judith Walzer Leavitt. I apologize for the pops, bangs, volume blow-outs, and mouth clicking that can be heard. I really need an audio engineer to help me with this project but for now, it'll have to do. I did my best to edit the recording to a listenable quality and near the end I'm pretty much fighting for my life, as it took 4 hours to record lol. You can actually hear my voice get tired about halfway through.

We're beginning our history of maternity care with a focus on men. Why? Because it is my belief that every revolution has required allies in order for the desired change to apply to enough people to see it through. Men have played a huge role in the history of U.S maternity care, not only as fathers, but also as medical practitioners, hospital administrators, board members, lawyers and judges. This episode spotlights the many ways, both positive and oppressive or harmful, that men have taken part in this human health experience. I also want it to be noted that when we hear the words 'maternity care' we often think of women first, when really, childbirth is a family event. As a baby and mother are bonded together, so is a family born. Our ancestors are playing a role in this story, especially our family tree branches that extend through the years of the Industrial Revolution. Childbirth is a family health matter that connects us to our past, as we deliver the future. 

 

https://www.childbirthforyou.com/ For audio childbirth classes and more

 

This podcast is written, featuring, and produced by Kim Ambrose for Childbirth For You LLC

Copyright 2024 Childbirth For You LLC

 

 

References:

 

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/make-room-for-daddy-the-journey-from-waiting-room-to-birthing-room_judith-walzer-leavitt/612347/item/30565531/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=low_vol_backlist_standard_shopping_customer_acquisition&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=593118743925&gad_source=4&gclid=CjwKCAiA2pyuBhBKEiwApLaIO9rchmIxq1tGnMmIr8XzRiTZR37dukO3K0cRbavsg9emWvbA4Ny7GRoCGbAQAvD_BwE#idiq=30565531&edition=6272996

Make Room For Daddy: The Journey From Waiting Room to Birthing Room by: Judith Walzer Leavitt

 

https://bcmj.org/blog/father-s-day-look-back-fathers-birthing-room

British Columbia Medical Journal - Article - On Father’s Day: A Look Back At Father’s In The Birthing Room

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/06/18/532921305/this-fathers-day-remembering-a-time-when-dads-werent-welcome-in-delivery-rooms

NPR

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595296/

National Library of Medicine - Father's Experiences of Childbirth Education

 

https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/116291

How Did Men End Up In The Delivery Room - By: Judith Leavitt

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/couvade

Couvade - (from French couver “to hatch”) ritual behaviour undertaken, usually by a man, during or around the birth of a child. Historically, couvade has been poorly defined; it has encompassed practices that are quite divergent in terms of timing, participants, activity, and cause.

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parturient

Merriam Webster definition of parturient

 

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/parturient

Dictionary.com origins of the word parturient

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7524830/

National Library of Medicine - National Center For Biotechnology Information - US Gov website - from the Springer Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics - Birth Experience From The Perspective of Fathers by Lena C. Vischer, Xenia Heun, Joscha Steetskamp, Annette Hasenburg, and Christine Skala

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026661382030293X

Science Direct

 

https://www.pregnancymagazine.com/the-big-day/the-evolution-of-dads-in-delivery-rooms

Pregnancy Magazine The Evolution of Dad’s In The Delivery Room by Jeanne Faulkner

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582410/

National Library of Medicine - The Journal of Perinatal Education: Where Have All The Midwives Gone? By Phyllis L Brodsky, RNC, MS

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2066258/

Couvade - National Library: National Center for Biotechnology Information article Couvade syndrome: male counterpart to pregnancy by H. Klein

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couvade

Couvade - Wikipedia

 

https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/t148fm592

An abstract on the thesis….1973….A Study of the Expressed Concerns, Feelings, and Needs of Expectant Fathers by Paula Ellen Sampson

 

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/21/archives/right-of-a-father-upheld.html

New York Times - Federal ruling unconstitutional to deny a father the right to be in the delivery room - June 21st 1970 - Barry & Merle Gross

 

https://casetext.com/case/fitzgerald-v-porter-memorial-hospital

Fitzgerald v Porter Memorial Hospital ruling 1975

 

https://angeloslaw.com/contact/thank-you/

Reached out to Peter Angelos Law Firm to inquire after the current laws concerning fathers’ rights to be present in labour and delivery rooms

 

https://www.youhavealawyer.com/contact/eval2/thanks/

Reached out to inquire after the current laws concerning fathers’ rights to be present in labour 

and delivery rooms

 

https://www.findlaw.com/family/paternity/fathers-rights-before-birth.html

Most recent U.S law concerning fathers’ rights in labour and delivery

 

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=legal+time+of+viability

Whether the foetus is in the period of viability may have legal ramifications as far as the foetus' rights of protection are concerned. Traditionally, the period of viability referred to the period after the twenty-eighth week.

 

https://www.quora.com/What-are-fathers-rights-when-it-comes-to-seeing-their-children-being-born

Quora - A place to share knowledge and better understand the world - it’s like facebook but for people who want to be more smart than social, like pinterest or reddit you pick the topics you want to read people post about and build your algorithm from what you want to learn, rather than who’s daily goings on you want to read everyday.

 

https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/justus-v-atchison-27990

Stanford Law School - Supreme Court of California ruling Justus v Atchison June 8, 1977

 

https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59149691add7b049345e3948

Hulit v St. Vincent's Hospital - March 25, 1974 - Supreme Court of Montana

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=LdiEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=Barry+and+Merle+Gross+delivery+room&source=bl&ots=x_7Z141f1g&sig=ACfU3U0-XdVlhVlyOqdJYmEtUrVobp-fvA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijtbLY6tCDAxW0FlkFHRBUD8cQ6AF6BAgJEAE#v=onepage&q=Barry%20and%20Merle%20Gross%20delivery%20room&f=false

Book - Every Goddamn Day: A Highly Selective, Definitely Opinionated, and Alternatingly Humorous and Heartbreaking Historical Tour of Chicago … by Neil Steinberg - June 1, 1970 (page for that date) - Barry and Merle Gross case ruling