History Main / PanickyExpectantFather

* In Chapter 1 of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' fanfic [[http://games.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=544211328 A Rose And A Thorn 2: Eclipse]], Amy is giving birth and Shadow actually considers using Chaos Control to get it out while she's straining and screaming. Fortunately he changes his mind. After the baby comes, Shadow faints.

* ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' (both versions) portrays anxious expectant fathers of both the human and canine variety. In the animated version, Roger is acting ''exactly'' like this trope, pacing around the room and smoking, when the "children" are actually puppies and Pongo's similarly pacing. In the live action version, Roger comments on his own anxiety regarding the puppies, wondering how much worse it'll be for his own child; Pongo, by contrast, is rather chill.

When the DeliveryGuy ''is'' the father of the baby, and has been preparing for this for the last nine months, he's often every bit as badly prepared when the time comes as some random guy would be, and usually a lot less calm. Sometimes he's ''over''-prepared, so that he's still reading his checklist while his wife is having a ScreamingBirth, sometimes his mind just goes blank at the thought he's going to be a father. On being told by his partner that the baby is coming, he will often charge off immediately to the hospital only to return a few seconds later to collect said pregnant partner. (It's a comedy trope.) When they finally get to the hospital, expect the wife to have to push said husband into the building in the wheelchair, instead of the other way around, since by this point he's likely fainted, hit his head, or possibly fallen downstairs in a panic.

Frequently, a father may be given something [[SnipeHunt ostensibly helpful to do]] by someone more competent, with boiling water and finding clean sheets being fairly common tasks (which may actually be useful). Or, if he's been kept out for whatever reason, he's shown pacing outside the delivery room (quite possibly [[PacingATrench wearing a groove into the floor]]); in older stories, he may well be [[CigaretteOfAnxiety smoking like a chimney]] — an increasing number of cigarette stubs may be a way to indicate the progress without having to actually show the woman in labor. In either traditional or modern childbirth scenes, once the baby is born, expect various celebratory traditions, including [[ProudPapaPassesOutTheCigars handing out cigars]] and/or buying ARoundOfDrinksForTheHouse.

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* Ricky in ''Series/ILoveLucy'' served as one of the earliest examples during "[[Recap/ILoveLucyS2E16LucyGoesToTheHospital Lucy Goes to the Hospital]]". Ricky almost doesn't go to the Tropicana on the night Lucy expects to go to the hospital, and even asks her to try to have the baby before showtime. Later, he tries to remain calm, even setting up a "rehearsal" so that he, Fred, and Ethel can each know what specific task to do when Lucy announces it's time to go to the hospital. Everything goes smoothly. Then Lucy tells them it's time for real, and ''everyone'' panics, leading to a legendary GilliganCut of a nurse wheeling ''Ricky'' into the hospital while a thoroughly unamused Lucy follows with their bags..

* Very common in the DistaffCounterpart ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' games--usually, during the "child born" scene, the PlayerCharacter's husband is off worrying. Some of them have only a normal worry, but others are so panicky, they'll get told by the DeliveryGuy or gal: "Honestly, I'm more worried about you!"

* Felix in ''Series/{{The Odd Couple|1970}}'' was this big time, driving his then-wife Gloria, the doctor, and everybody else (especially Oscar) crazy.

* [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] was acting a little like this when awaiting his first child's birth (compounded by feared complications caused by Sue's exposure to cosmic radiation and all that), but he had nothing on the guy whose wife was in the next ward, who ''fainted'' upon being informed he was now the father of twins.

* ComicBook/LukeCage gets hit with this in ''Comicbook/ThePulse'' when his girlfriend ComicBook/JessicaJones goes into labor while he's on the other side of town.
* ''{{ComicBook/Preacher}}'': Averted with Tulip's father, who was at the local bar celebrating his soon-to-be son's birth. One hapless guy asks why he's so sure it'll be a boy and gets laughed at by the rest of the bar crowd. Then the hospital calls, and it turns out his wife died and the baby's a girl.
* In ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'' Tim manages to pull off this role with gusto despite the fact that the baby is from Stephanie's previous boyfriend and she has decided to give them up for adoption. When Steph asks him Tim makes it clear he'd be willing and happy to act as the baby's father, even though he thinks that they're both too young and involved with Gotham's more dangerous side to be acting as parents, and he has Franchise/TheFlash rush him to the hospital when Steph goes into labor in order to stay by her side the entire time.

* WesternAnimation/{{Archer}} does this when Lana Kane goes into labour in the fifth season finale. After he's kicked out of the room he starts pacing nervously, knocks over a vending machine and punches [[ButtMonkey Cyril]] in the face. The irony is that he doesn't actually know the baby is his until ''after'' the birth is over. Lana told everyone she used a sperm donor to get pregnant when she actually used a sample Archer had frozen during an earlier bout with cancer.

** Deliberately averted with the [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/1764.htm birth of Mordred]]. The NewsPost below this comic was the TropeNamer.
** And the aversion is taken further with the [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/2088.htm birth of Galahad]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSerpentsPass has Sokka filling this role when a woman the Gaang is traveling with goes into labor before they finish going through the titular pass. His panic is mostly due to not knowing that his sister had midwifed births before. Averted with the baby's actual father, who handles the situation fairly calmly, even considering the circumstances.

* Dexter's dad in the "[[Recap/DextersLaboratoryS2EP38 LABretto]]" episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' detailing Dexter's birth and development.

** "The Flea Circus": While waiting for his wife in a waiting room a flea is pacing back and fourth in the waiting room while puffing cigarettes laying on the floor, the cigarettes being about twenty times his size.