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Kōrero: Pregnancy, birth and baby care

Father at the birth of his child, 2007

Father at the birth of his child, 2007

John Roberts supports his wife Kate during contractions, while family friend Rachel Dickinson (left) applies acupressure for pain relief. Fathers were excluded from the birth of their children until the second half of the 20th century. Some maternity hospitals allowed fathers to be present in the 1950s, but it was not until the early 1970s that this became standard practice.

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Kerryn Pollock, Pregnancy, birth and baby care – Childbirth, 1950s to 1980s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/26170/father-at-the-birth-of-his-child-2007 (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Kerryn Pollock, i tāngia i te 29 March 2011.

Comments

Suze Gee
28 June 2015
I had my first child,a daughter in St Helens Wellington in 1972. I remember it like it was only yesterday ! I was in labour for a very long time,which of course wouldn't happen now and fathers were not allowed to come in to see you until you had actually given birth! My how things have changed.I had heaps of milk and I was asked to "donate" it to the mother's that had very little or none at all.I was more than happy to! The staff there were amazing. Suze.