Hispanic Men Take On Active Role In Childbirth & Parenting.

Hispanic men seem to be leaving behind a traditionally more passive role in childbirth and parenting. According to a survey conducted by Spanish baby website TodoBebe.com, 99% said men should help taking care of their babies by changing diapers and feeding them.

Almost 70% of men and women said that the husband had helped with feeding the baby and changing the diapers. The vast majority, 99%, also believes that “Men should have an active role during their partners’ pregnancy and labor.” A previous survey done by TodoBebe.com already revealed that 80% of respondents had been or planned to be in the delivery room.

Internationally renowned birth expert Shari Daniels — founder of the Miami Beach Maternity Center — gives high importance to this participation. “In my 30 years of delivering babies, it never ceases to amaze me the differences between those fathers that were a part of the birth and those that weren’t. Dads at birth are part of the child’s life forever.”

Although the trends are positive it is clearly still not an entirely equal playing field among all families — the study also showed that 14% of Hispanic fathers had only fed the baby, and 12% admitted to not doing anything to help.

“I love giving my son the bottle, because it brings me closer to him during that moment,” said Fernando Suarez, father of a 6 month-old baby. “But I only changed his diaper once. At least I did it; my father says he never changed my diapers.”

TodoBebe.com received 5675 responses mainly from the United States, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Chile. Since 7% of those surveyed were men, the results regarding whether fathers effectively helped take care of their children relied mainly on their wives’ opinion.