I am currently in the exact same situation, also in France. And it seems to me that the more we see the progress that has been made on gender equality (by simply talking to your parents… or looking at the US) the more we see the long road ahead:
- why do I have to leave my wife and baby alone at home for many weeks?
- why do every nurse, pediatrician or midwife makes you feel like a outsider (sometimes with this nice condescending remark: « Oh nice, I see that the father has came »)
- in many maternity, why do fathers need to fight to stay with the mother and baby (in France, some I know literally hid in the closet so they were not kicked out in the evening!)
- why do I need to go to the women restrooms and face judging looks simply to change my baby?
The worst of it is that, in the end, it sometimes feels easier to fit into the mold and be a bystander in your baby first months. But I am fighting hard this tendency.
The worst of it is that, in the end, it sometimes feels easier to fit into the mold and be a bystander in your baby first months. But I am fighting hard this tendency.