Empathy for a Father

There are gains and losses for both fathers and mothers when their child arrives and the transition can be a challenge. Here are some ways to make the process flow a bit more smoothly.

A normal process

Her baby is hugely important to most mothers. She has waited and suffered to bring her child into the world. Feeding, putting to sleep, play, even diaper changing, all lead the mother to place great attention and energy in her child. Mothering a young child is exhausting and there is simply less to give others.

Additionally, there is a normal process of self-centeredness in which the mother's focus narrows to the child and mothering. Mother and child can merge to some extent and become a psychological unit. The rest of the world can feel like "other" in which people and events largely fall into three categories: they help, or they get in the way, or they are irrelevant.

A father usually feels a withdrawal of his wife's attention and energy after children. This loss is especially painful because during the long pregnancy his wife typically became even more important to him, bearing his hopes for the future much as she bore his child. He sees the discomfort and changes endured by his wife and feels deeply appreciative. The creation of a new life opens his heart and makes him vulnerable. Perhaps he feels (naively) that things will settle down after the birth so that he and his wife can return to their way of being together.

When his wife pulls away from him through involvement with his child, a father can feel hurt and angry. At a time he wants closeness, an important person has withdrawn. Who now will let him know he is special? Who will tell him that he matters in and of himself beyond his mere function of providing for mother and child?

We all have normal needs for attention and love. Mothers usually have those needs met by the cooing and attachment of their child, while fathers can be left out in the cold. These losses are typically aggravated by the natural drop in sexual desire experienced by his wife for many months before and after the birth.

Further, as the husband watches his wife baring her breast to feed the baby, as he smells the odors of infancy, as he lives again in the intimate setting of childhood, long-forgotten feelings toward his own mother may be re-awakened. Unconsciously, he may want the closeness with his wife that his son enjoys, but there is room for only one in that particular relationship: the child.

He loves his child incredibly, but as a moment to moment matter the child probably does not have the same centrality in his life that he or she has for his wife. The child is not flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone. His relationship to his wife is still a top priority in and of itself, not merely as a means to the end of caring for children. He (usually) didn't marry a mother; where did his wife go?

His child is indeed a rival for the attention, care, and touch of his wife. He can try to separate mother and baby, or withdraw to find other satisfactions in work or perhaps different relationships. Often he will go back and forth between these alternatives while feeling hurt, angry, and guilty. He may assert his needs openly, or resent his wife (and child) quietly, or repress the whole matter (though with 'leakage' from his unconscious).

The wife usually becomes aware of her husband's feelings in one way or another, which adds fuel to her normal fears that someone will try to separate her from her baby. As a result, she may tend to move even closer to the child and further from her husband.

So what's a father to do?

Understanding
There is actually a lot that you can do. First, you can step back and understand that you and your wife are part of an ancient, universal process that is biologically driven. It's not personal. This is mother nature's way: your wife's withdrawal from you gives her more resources to care for your child.

Pride
You can take pride in your contributions and the sacrifices you make. Your wounds in relationship are badges of honor, the signs of your moral commitment to your child.

Take care of yourself
In healthy ways, look outside your relationship for other resources that feed you. But beware the tendency to find solace in a bottle, overwork, or an affair. Exercise, read, go to movies, deepen your spiritual life. What's kept me (relatively) sane is to go on a long hike with one of several male friends nearly every weekend. I get up early and am back around noon so I feel great and it doesn't impact the family too much. I also take about a week each year and go have an adventure with two other men. Of course, my wife has a right to the same amount of time for herself while I watch the kids.

The community of men
Turn to men for companionship and support, especially fathers. They have something unique to offer you. You stand in a long line of men reaching back to times when we sat around the fire next to our wives nuzzling our children while we stayed alert to noises in the darkness outside our circle of light.

Pay attention to your heart
Don't let the problems with your wife build up to the point that your heart feels barren. Blade by blade, the fertile green of our heart can wither and grow stony before we know it. Deal with things early.

Communication
It can make a huge difference to feel that your wife truly gets how it is for you. The facts may not change, but the way you experience them can change through communication. Find a good time to talk with your wife. If things get defensive or heated, perhaps you can write her a little note. It always helps to start the conversation with appreciation for all the effort she makes; you are not the only one who is making big sacrifices.

Operationalize your wants
Translate how you want your wife to be into practical terms. It is impotent to moan and groan without proposing effective alternatives.

Get help
Don't kid yourself: the arrival of children stresses many marriages past the point of no return. A.P.P.L.E. offers excellent support groups and low-fee counseling, and there are other resources in our community as well. I'm also happy to talk with you.

Enjoy the ride
You are participating in one of the great human dramas. As awful as it can be sometimes, you probably wouldn't miss it for the world!

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Rick Hanson is a clinical psychologist, Jan Hanson is an acupuncturist/nutritionist, and they are raising a daughter and son, ages 12 and 14. With Ricki Pollycove, M.D., they are the authors of Mother Nurture: A Mother's Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships, published by Penguin. You can see their website at www.nurturemom.com or email them with questions or comments at info@nurturemom.com; unfortunately, a personal reply may not always be possible.