Pregnancy Affects Your Partner.

A first-time pregnancy for you mayor may not be a first pregnancy for your partner. However, it will be the first pregnancy he shares with you.
Being pregnant together can teach you a lot about each other.
You will go through many changes and face new challenges together during the pregnancy. Your partner may feel anxious about his ability to be a good father or to provide for you and the baby. Other challenges you both may face include making childcare decisions and choosing how each of you will allot your time and delegation of responsibilities, such as who will do what chores.

While your body undergoes changes, and you experience the deep wonder of a new life growing inside you, your partner will watch you change but cannot really know what you are going through. Some men become jealous of the attention their pregnant partners receive. If you notice signs of jealousy, be understanding of your partner's feelings. Offer him support and love, and include him in your pregnancy as much as you can. Help him understand what you and the baby are going through.

Because your partner is less intimately involved with the pregnancy than you are, you may have to adjust your expectations of his enthusiasm and participation. You may need to encourage your partner to become more actively involved, such as by asking him to accompany you to prenatal visits.

Your partner can be a wonderful source of support. He can help prepare you for labor and delivery, and support you as you labor. He can share in the joy of the delivery of your baby. He can support you emotionally during pregnancy, which can be important to you both. Involve him as much as he is willing to be involved, and help him feel he's included in what's going on.
Discuss his feelings about the pregnancy. He may have fears and uncertainties he hasn't voiced. Be open and direct with each other about your feelings-it can help both of you.
Some expectant fathers manifest physical problems during their wife's pregnancy. The condition is called couvade, a term taken from a Carib Indian tribe in which every expectant father engages in rituals that enable him to understand some of what his wife is experiencing. In our culture, an expectant father may experience headaches, irritability, back and muscle aches, insomnia, fatigue and depression. Many of these symptoms are his body's way of signaling the tension level is high and he must do something to relieve the stress.

To help relieve stress, a father can discuss his feelings and fears with other men, such as those who are taking the same childbirth education classes. Exercise, reading and listening to music may also relieve stress; share our other pregnancy books with him. When a man experiences headaches and shows other stress-related symptoms during his partner's pregnancy, it's time for the couple to start taking better care of each other so together they can take care of their baby when it is born.