A new trend sees more Italian fathers opting to be present in the delivery room to welcome their child into the world.
According to the latest report from Italy’s Ministry of Health, 92.03% of dads are staying by their wives during childbirth. The statistic is remarkable because just 5 years ago, only 60% of men chose to be present in the room.
This shift from 6 in 10 to over 9 in 10 cases shows that fathers are recognizing that the birth of a child is not exclusively an event for women, but doctors stress that it is also important to respect the decision of fathers who opt to stay in the waiting room.
In the remaining 8% of cases, the absence of the father in the delivery room was filled by the presence another family member like a mother or sister (6.7%) or a trusted friend (1.3%).
The study also found that the average age of an Italian woman in her first pregnancy is 32 years, compared to 27 years old for foreign parents.
