IN THE bad old days, prospective fathers limited their prenatal activities to smoking cigarettes in hospital corridors while their partners got on with the business in hand.
The New Man, however, likes to get in touch with his female side. And for those men who still feel limited by their hormonal inadequacies, there is now the Empathy Belly.
Last week, the Adventist Hospital unveiled what is believed to be Hong Kong's first pregnancy simulator. It weighs 15.9 kilograms, contains 31/2 litres of warm water and two small cannonballs, and recreates at least 20 of pregnancy's physical effects.
As these include backache, shortness of breath, increased perspiration and a frequent desire to urinate, its appeal might seem limited.
But Dr William Andress, director of the hospital's Health Promotion Department, disagrees. 'I've been here for a year and a half,' he says. 'And I haven't seen such an amazing response as we've had at our prepared childbirth classes. It is a unique experience. When I wore it, I constantly felt that I was falling forward, and I had a lot of backache afterwards.' The Empathy Belly is, of course, an American concept. It was created about 10 years ago, but gained credibility in 1989 after it was unveiled on the Donahue chat show.
Presenter Phil Donahue obviously thought it a winner - he wore it for 24 hours last year and reported his painful experiences on prime-time television.