The Baby in the Picture by John Nedham

Aug. 25, 2014 - PRLog -- John Nedham returns to Goldenroom with his moving account of becoming a father when despite prejudices to the contrary:

What I felt at the moment my son was placed in my arms was a journey that encompassed everything from the whimsical to the profound. Although I was by no means as tired as the baby’s mother, the adrenalin that was pulsating through my body made clear thought possible, even as emotion robbed me of the power of speech

Some years before I met my wife, a previous girlfriend saw fit to tell me that she couldn’t see us having a family because – with my balance and mobility impaired – I might fall while holding a baby. I could say that at the time I found this suggestion offensive, but that really wouldn’t do justice to the sort of visceral, gut wrenching nausea you only feel when someone you love reaches inside you and crushes your soul.

Nonetheless, much as I might be able to explain the thought process, it is still profoundly misguided. For a start, to assume that I – or indeed any other disabled parent – would be any less aware of their children’s safety than someone able bodied makes no sense.

I am sure that countless other disabled parents have come up with similarly straightforward solutions for the same reasons. Practical parental problems are not unique to disabled people and parents of any description can usually be counted on to love their children.

More seriously, to write someone off as a parent on the basis of a physical impairment seems to me to be one dimensional at best.

'Practical parental problems are not unique to disabled people and parents of any description can usually be counted on to love their children.'
http://goldenroom.co.uk/issue/august-2014/article/the-baby-in-the-picture