It’s probably not safe to read this blog around your wife. It’s definitely not safe to read this specific entry around your wife if she is pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or has even considered what it might be like to get pregnant.
The reason is simple; this article is not about her. For that reason alone this should probably be the sole article you read about the health of an expecting husband. Now you may ask, “Wait a minute, my health is important isn’t it?”
And you would be right in assuming your health is important. You just might not realize exactly why. You may believe you just need to be of sound mind, body and spirit if you are going to be a good father. And you would be partially correct. The real reason, however, it is important to stay healthy as an expectant father is in order to be better prepared to care for the expecting mother.
For a husband or father be truly healthy during and immediately after a pregnancy it is of critical importance to realize this pregnancy is primarily about baby and mother. Yes, the father certainly contributed, but once the woman begins the daily inspection of her “bump”, the father’s role becomes logistically one of support.
It’s rather easy, for instance, to let a good mood slip away while driving through slush and freezing winds to pick up a late-night snack for the hungry mother and baby. But don’t despair. Great men and women alike have consistently pointed toward attitude as the watermark of a great spirit. Each day and night through this pregnancy period will offer one after another opportunity to provide for the safety, comfort and health of mother and baby-to-be.
So definitely wash hands, cover coughs, stay hydrated and exercise because again, the husband’s health is critical. But even more important is a happy, expectant and grateful attitude toward providing for the wife’s and new baby’s needs.