"Oh please, she acknowledged that she snapped at him and felt bad for it. Not every thought and action during labor is a lucid one."
Well, its so nice she felt "bad" for hurting his feelings, making him feel like an outsider, and making him look like a fool in front of the OB staff.
But of course, he's a man so its ok.
You're a man aren't you? The only thing I can think of equivalent to the pain of childbirth is passing a very large kidney stone. See how charitable you feel when you have a big rock passing through your penis. Now as for the staff, staff have heard everything and in a hospital setting it's best if men wait outside. I don't hear these comments coming from women who've had home births but then I've not met every woman.
Re: Your comments about a woman hurting her husband's feelings and making him feel like an outsider at the birth. ARE YOU KIDDING!!! Anyone who has been through a prepared childbirth class is totally prepared for the crazy things that come out of a woman's mouth during transition and delivery. Of course that woman is not to be held responsible for her words! As my daughter's OB guy said at her January delivery, "We have a threshold rule here. Nothing that Mama says during labor goes over the threshold!" One of the favorite topics of discussion at social gatherings, concerning babies, is the hilarious things that women say during labor and delivery. I, personally, don't use profanity in polite conversation, but I swore like a sailor during transition. When I told my husband to, "Open the G**D****** window," he grinned at the nurse and said, "Don't bother checking her. She just hit 7 centimeters!" How thin-skinned and immature a man would have to be to be hurt by what his wife said at such a time. Anyway, it's about HER and her needs, not his precious sensibilities.
Never been in a delivery room, have you?