Sometimes you just have to laugh

The New York Times published a piece titled "A Perilous Journey from Delivery Room to Bedroom," in which an MD describes the men he treats who confess having trouble being attracted to their wives after witnessing them in the act of childbirth. The article suggests that some of these men are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and delivers such gems as "They seem to have trouble seeing them as sexual beings after seeing them make babies" and "Women may want to consider the risks as they invite their partners to watch them bring new life into the world. For some of the passion that binds them together may leave their lives at the very same time." Lovely.

A lengthy discussion of this article has already gone on over at BitchPhD. My contribution? An open letter to the Extraordinary Husband, in anticipation of the day he might feel all traumatized and weird over a thing he will have known was coming for a whole 3/4 of a year:

Dear EH,
Here's the deal. One day, you and I might want to get together and make some babies. On the day the delivery occurs, you are going to be there in the room with me, and I'm not having any of this hiding behind my shoulders garbage. In fact, the chances of my giving birth in the standard flat-on-my-back position are pretty slim. There may be squatting, standing, walking, jumping, or assorted special implements involved, so your shot at staying in one place and avoiding the view is likewise pretty slim. My mom will be there, and everybody else we know has an open invitation as well. You and my mom have both seen all the parts I have to offer, so you'll be fine, and you should count your blessings if I don't have somebody there live-blogging it all. If I'm going to do this thing, and probably sans pain-relieving drugs, you can bet your behind that I'm going to have an audience, and I expect a hearty slap on the back and the exclamation, "You really rocked that pushing, honey!" Suck it up, kiddo, it's going to be messy in there.
Love,
The Cheeky Gyno-Blogger

Okay, so this is not the best representative post for a professional medical librarian-in-training. Seriously, though, women's health issues are so often fraught with the perils of confusing information, missing data, and/or political agendas, sometimes you just have to laugh.
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