There is no way my DH wouldn't have been at the birth, but he did find it really difficult to see me in so much pain. I for one, really feel like I couldn't have done it without him so I guess it depends more on the type of person rather than the gender.
I remember at one point DH went to get something to eat and I decided to go on gas because there was a lot of pain in my spine. Gas really affected my perception and gave everything a nighmarish quality. The two midwives (one who was my MIL) both had a giggle when the gas obviously helped my pain and I felt really awful like they were laughing at me. At that point my DH walked in and I knew that I could trust him no matter what. It would have been awful to go through it alone or just with the midwives.