Opinion Joe Daniher missing a final to attend the birth of his child

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having more time to think about this and understanding the difficulties some of my friends have had at getting pregnant eg: going through ivf for 3 years and paying $30,000 plus to have a child and maybe the last thing on your mind if that’s how your partner falls pregnant is the AFL finals series for
Your club.
 

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having more time to think about this and understanding the difficulties some of my friends have had at getting pregnant eg: going through ivf for 3 years and paying $30,000 plus to have a child and maybe the last thing on your mind if that’s how your partner falls pregnant is the AFL finals series for
Your club.
Yeah, I know people who have been trying for well over a year. Footy would take a back seat
 
I've two children these days and the idea I could have missed either birth because of work - yes, even in the hypothetical situation of being a highly paid sports person - is laughable.

Labour can be and usually is a drawn out process. There's boredom, there's tiredness, there are laughs, there are tears, there are screams, there's blood, there is the whole works. There is also a lot of joy ultimately.

But you can never have that experience again. And honestly, I reckon if I'd missed the birth of either of mine for any reason at all, the thing that would tear at me the most would be the idea I wasn't there to support my wife as she went through it. That would get me far more than not meeting my child the minute they were born, I think (though that would be horrible too).

So no, there is nothing wrong with what Daniher did at all.
 
Only for medical reasons… and birth is a serious medical procedure.

My fiancée is an obstetrician, she is clear that they didn’t even induce for FIFO workers who couldn’t be there.

Birth is not a serious medical procedure. It’s the most natural thing in the world. The female body was designed to carry and nourish a baby and then to give birth. That’s it’s whole point.

Doctors with their interventions turn it into a medical procedure. But most labouring women will deliver naturally, needing no medical interventions at all.

I was wondering where you got this “serious medical procedure” idea from and then you mentioned your partner was a doctor. Bingo!

On a side note: a Caesarean is major abdominal surgery. Never done through keyhole surgery (obviously), often done when the mother-to-be is exhausted from labouring and/or in the midst of a medical emergency, and then the woman is given a brand new baby to look after while she recovers.

So if you hear anyone recommending a caesarean is the way to go, remember natural birth is best every time, and a caesarean should be a last resort.

As for being at the birth of your child vs a footy match: when you die and the wording on your head stone is being decided, do you want it to say, excellent worker, paid very well, kept his family in luxury OR loving father, husband, brother, son, friend, will be dearly missed etc?

It’s human relationships that are important. Not your job, or money, or travel, or lifestyle.

Family and friends. If you don’t have them, you’ve got nothing.
 
What is everyone's thoughts about this ?

My own personal opinion is it should be up to the player to decide (with no pressure from the coach or club)

I would have played myself personally if I was in JD's position given its a cut throat final/loser goes out, but I am not a Father/parent and not aware of the immense obligations and commitment it must take to be one.

I just hope Brisbane fans don't turn on him if the Lions lose by a narrow margin tonight. He was put in a literal can't win situation either way.
Really, it’s your opinion he can choose to be with his wife who went into labour prematurely? Lol
 

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If it was a grand final though, that would be debatable with regards to play or attend the birth of your child.

Lions seemingly going okay without him
for tonight thankfully
Wouldn’t matter if it was the cup of the universe, he was unavailable.
 
True story, one of my sisters bests friends was drafted by the Crows, he’d played a few games, anyway his best mate committed suicide and he went to Gary Ayres and told him he needed the week off to head back to Melbourne, Ayres said sure, but if you go don’t bother coming back, Mathew Collins was his name iirc, wasn’t going to miss a final and wasn’t even a lock 22, i can’t remember if he ended up going or not…Ayres is a scumbag.
 
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I made the mistake of bringing this up with Mrs Dollop and mentioning that some people were saying that they should have timed things a bit better.

Holy schnikes... I'd advise against doing that, if anyone else is considering it 😳
Noted. So how many nights will you be sleeping in the garden shed..? Look, it's not all that bad, providing the roof doesn't leak, you've got a decent heater and a radio, oh and don't takes snacks out there as it just attracts 'more' vermin...
 
Imagine choosing work over the birth of your child.

I now see why the divorce rate is so high in this country.
Not saying personally I’d do it. I just think it’s ridiculous someone would say they’d have divorce papers waiting for them when they’re out there doing their job for the family
 
Serious medical procedures should never be done for convenience

s**t, people get induced for convenience all the time.

I'm not saying that's what should have happened but it's a pretty regular thing. We've had more than one group of friends do it over the years.
 
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Noted. So how many nights will you be sleeping in the garden shed..? Look, it's not all that bad, providing the roof doesn't leak, you've got a decent heater and a radio, oh and don't takes snacks out there as it just attracts 'more' vermin...

I even went to the trouble of providing the historical context of test cricketers meeting their children at four months old after an Ashes tour, but it didn't seem to help. I thought she was going to bust out the Dikembe Mutombo finger wave at one point.
 
I've two children these days and the idea I could have missed either birth because of work - yes, even in the hypothetical situation of being a highly paid sports person - is laughable.

Labour can be and usually is a drawn out process. There's boredom, there's tiredness, there are laughs, there are tears, there are screams, there's blood, there is the whole works. There is also a lot of joy ultimately.

But you can never have that experience again. And honestly, I reckon if I'd missed the birth of either of mine for any reason at all, the thing that would tear at me the most would be the idea I wasn't there to support my wife as she went through it. That would get me far more than not meeting my child the minute they were born, I think (though that would be horrible too).

So no, there is nothing wrong with what Daniher did at all.
I hope you had a scarf waiting for both mate !
 
Not saying personally I’d do it. I just think it’s ridiculous someone would say they’d have divorce papers waiting for them when they’re out there doing their job for the family
But he doesn't need to be out there doing his job.

Thats the point. In this day and age, unless you're in the military, no employer would force you to miss the birth of a child.

To miss it, you'd literally have to decide that work is more important than your family.

Seems reasonable grounds for considering divorce, to be honest.
 
Birth is not a serious medical procedure. It’s the most natural thing in the world. The female body was designed to carry and nourish a baby and then to give birth. That’s it’s whole point.

Doctors with their interventions turn it into a medical procedure. But most labouring women will deliver naturally, needing no medical interventions at all.

I was wondering where you got this “serious medical procedure” idea from and then you mentioned your partner was a doctor. Bingo!

On a side note: a Caesarean is major abdominal surgery. Never done through keyhole surgery (obviously), often done when the mother-to-be is exhausted from labouring and/or in the midst of a medical emergency, and then the woman is given a brand new baby to look after while she recovers.

So if you hear anyone recommending a caesarean is the way to go, remember natural birth is best every time, and a caesarean should be a last resort.

As for being at the birth of your child vs a footy match: when you die and the wording on your head stone is being decided, do you want it to say, excellent worker, paid very well, kept his family in luxury OR loving father, husband, brother, son, friend, will be dearly missed etc?

It’s human relationships that are important. Not your job, or money, or travel, or lifestyle.

Family and friends. If you don’t have them, you’ve got nothing.
Obstetricians aren’t the problem; any simple comparison of maternal survival rates between today and 100 years ago, or Australia and third world countries should put that theory to bed.

Edit: the one caveat I would give to that is that private obstetrics consultants can be prone to scheduling Caesars too quickly because of the financial incentive
 
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