Unit 23: Great expectations!
First conditional
Select a unit
- 1 Nice to meet you!
- 2 What to wear
- 3 Like this, like that
- 4 The daily grind
- 5 Christmas every day
- 6 Great achievers
- 7 The Titanic
- 8 Travel
- 9 The big wedding
- 10 Sunny's job hunt
- 11 The bucket list
- 12 Moving and migration
- 13 Welcome to BBC Broadcasting House
- 14 New Year, New Project
- 15 From Handel to Hendrix
- 16 What's the weather like?
- 17 The Digital Revolution
- 18 A detective story
- 19 A place to live
- 20 The Cult of Celebrity
- 21 Welcome to your new job
- 22 Beyond the planets
- 23 Great expectations!
- 24 Eco-tourism
- 25 Moving house
- 26 It must be love
- 27 Job hunting success... and failure
- 28 Speeding into the future
- 29 Lost arts
- 30 Tales of survival
Session 4
We’ll find out about the cost of having a baby in different countries. We’d also like to hear from you. What are the traditional beliefs about childbirth where you live?
Activity 3
News Report
Dads attending births
Who is normally present when a baby is born in your culture? Of course the woman giving birth is there and often doctors, nurses and midwives. But what about the father? In the UK it hasn't always been normal for dads to be at the birth. This News Report is about how this has changed over time.
Listen to the programme and write down any new words you hear. After you listen you can check them with the vocabulary list and the transcript.
Here's a question for you to answer while you listen. In the 1980s, how many fathers were present during the birth of their children?
Listen to the audio
Times have changed in the world of childbirth in the UK.
In the 1950s fathers were rarely present at the birth of their children. Many men thought it was not their place.
In those days fathers preferred to wait in the kitchen or the pub for news.
This wasn’t always the man’s choice. Women too were not always happy for their husbands to see them while they were giving birth.
However, if you are in a hospital maternity unit now you will see many fathers. These fathers are not just waiting outside for information but taking an active part in the delivery.
By the end of the 1970s up to 80% of fathers were present when their children were born.
There are a number of possible reasons for this change.
In 1948 the National Health Service was established in the UK. This led to more women having children in hospital than at home. Away from the familiar surroundings of the home, women looked for more moral support and men started to play an increasing role.
Doctors and midwives now generally encourage fathers to be part of the process. In the past this wasn’t always true.
Changing attitudes in society towards relationships and parenting have also had a big impact. There is now more focus on the emotional bond between a man and a woman and a man and his newborn child.
Despite this some fathers still prefer not to be there when their children are born. Some are squeamish and some think that if they see their wives giving birth it will be bad for their relationship.
Did you get it? In the programme we heard that 'up to 80% of fathers were present when their children were born'.
Download
You can download News Report from our Unit 23 downloads page (size: 1.8MB).
Vocabulary
not their place
not the right thing for them to be there
maternity unit
the department in a hospital where babies are born
the delivery
the process of giving birth
National Health Service
system of health care in the UK which provides free medical treatment for all
established
started
moral support
help and encouragement
to play an increasing role
to become more involved
midwives
nurses who specialise in looking after women who are having babies
a big impact
an important influence
bond
strong connection
squeamish
unhappy anduncomfortable when seeing blood
End of Session 4
The delivery of Unit 23 is almost complete! We hope you've enjoyed learning about the first conditional. Get ready – in the next session you'll be able to test what you've learnt in our weekly quiz! Remember, if you study, you will have a better chance to get 100%!
Session Vocabulary
not their place
not the right thing for them to be therematernity unit
the department in a hospital where babies are bornthe delivery
the process of giving birthNational Health Service
system of health care in the UK which provides free medical treatment for allestablished
startedmoral support
help and encouragementto play an increasing role
to become more involvedmidwives
nurses who specialise in looking after women who are having babiesa big impact
an important influencebond
strong connectionsqueamish
unhappy anduncomfortable when seeing blood