I disagree with that article. Though it may be the case for some couples, it was not the case for me. i would not have been able to go through labour without my husband by many side. Whenever he left the room I got all panicky and when he came back to hold my hand, or wipe my face with a cool cloth, or rub my back, I could relax again. I too would have been distraught without him there. DS is as much his as mine and I think it was right that he should be there to see him enter the world and cut the cord. I can't even imagine him not being there for it.