Even though mom is the one doing most, or all, of the work when it comes to childbirth, it doesn’t mean that dads are completely clueless. They go through nine months of pregnancy with mom. They go to appointments or attend childbirth classes. Sometimes they even read books and articles to educate themselves about what is about to happen — childbirth. Yes, mom is the one doing the work, but it doesn’t mean that dad can't be supportive. And if they’re going to be supportive, they want to know as much as possible. Dads don’t usually get a lot of credit. But if they can stick through those nine months and try to fill themselves up with as much information as possible, then maybe they deserve a little credit.

Celeb dads are becoming quite popular lately. Both moms and dads can’t get enough of their funny tweets and sweet stories about their children. They make going through parenthood a little more fun. From Ryan Reynolds to Channing Tatum, these celeb dads know a little bit when it comes to delivering a baby — or at least supporting mom as she delivers the baby. They also share cute pictures that will make you say “awww”, so they are definitely doing something right.

Being a parent is kind of like a group sport. You need to work together to get through it, because there aren’t many people who can do it alone. Here is advice from 15 celeb dads on how to survive the delivery.

15 You Are Not Tired

Gary Oldman is a very well known actor. Some of his roles include Sirius Black in the Harry Potter Series as well as Detective James Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series. Oldman has three sons, and has spoken up about parenting before. One of his more notable quotes basically tell a man why they just need to accept their exhaustion.

"You're tired? Have a baby, then come back and tell me how tired tired is. There's no handbook for parenting. So you walk a very fine line, civilising these raw things.”

I have to give it to Gary, because I agree that the person actually delivering the baby is five times more exhausted than dad could ever imagine. It doesn’t matter if dad has been up for 48 hours with a mom in labor. They have never experienced how tiring it is to give birth and they never will know what it’s truly like.

14 Don’t Underestimate Bonding

Taye Diggs made his feature film debut in How Stella Got Her Groove Back and plays the role of Dr. Sam Bennett in Private Practice. He has spoken up about how important bonding is for a dad and what a dad can do to bond with their child, even when they aren’t the one actually giving birth.

“One of the first things I did after my son Walker was born was take off my shirt and hold him against me. It was such an important moment where the two of us were connecting on a very similar level. We were skin-to-skin and he could feel my heart beat. He could take in my scent, feel me breathing and hear my voice resonating. It was a special way that he and I could connect. There's no way a father can compete with a mom's ability to grow a baby in her womb! We're trying to play catch-up in the way that works for us.”

13 Don’t Complain

Scott Wolf is an American actor known for a couple of roles including Bailey Salinger in the television series Party of Five, as Jake Hartman in Everwood and Chad Decker in V. He gives excellent advice about what to tell your wife as she’s in labor. Before you go complaining about something silly, stop and realize exactly what she is going through at that moment.

“I was in Vancouver and my wife calls early on a Saturday morning. She’s like, ‘It’s happening; you gotta get on a plane.’ Unfortunately, the night before we were at a drinking establishment and we had gotten over-served. So I basically got on a plane and was recovering the whole way. Thankfully I had the good sense not to tell a woman who was about to push out something the equivalent of a bowling ball out of her own body that I had a headache.”

12 You Don’t Actually Share The Experience

Robin Williams was a loved comedian and actor. Unfortunately, he committed suicide in 2014. Williams had three children, and spoke about them often.

“You’re standing next to her in the delivery room saying ‘breathe, honey’ and taking big deep breaths in, because you have this myth that you’re sharing the birthing experience with her. Unless you’re passing a bowling ball, I don’t think so.”

As much as mom’s like to try and include dad in the pregnancy and birth, it’s true that they don’t get to truly share this experience. They will never know what it’s like to carry a baby for nine months and constantly worry about if you’re doing or eating the right things. They will never, ever actually deliver a baby. But it doesn’t mean that the little things they do don’t matter. They can still be there for mom and help her as much as possible.

11 Women Are Much Better In Crises

Bear Grylls is most known for his television series Man vs Wild. While he knows a lot about the wilderness, he also knows quite a bit about the delivery of a baby. He and his wife Shara have three sons, and they decided on a home birth for their third son who was born on their houseboat. Here’s what he said about the couple’s home birth.

“All I was there for, really, was reassurance. Girls are so great in a big crisis. I’ve seen it in the mountains, too. Men are all great when it’s quite comfy and there’s lots of bravado, but when it really hits the fan, it’s the women who often come through.”

Dad isn’t going to know what to do, and that’s okay. But the best thing to do is to just be there and reassure mom that she’s doing great and everything is going to be okay.

10 Act Quickly

James Van Der Beek is probably best known for his role on Dawson’s Creek. He might know more than most celeb dads as he actually helped deliver his third child. James and his wife Kimberly decided on a home birth, and it progressed much quicker than anticipated.

“We had the birthing tub there and we had a midwife on the way and I started filling up the tub and my wife said, ‘I think I’m in early labor’, and she has them quickly, so I knew immediately to fill up the tub. She got in the tub, had the baby before the doctor even got there… I caught the baby (as she came out)… I didn’t even ask the midwife! I realized after… When you’re a dad of two and you see a baby just drop, you go in.”

When his wife really needed him, he was able to act quickly and be there for her.

9 Male Contribution To Life Is Embarrassing

“Homebirth was all my wife’s idea. It was wild. There was so much screaming at one point, I actually woke up.”

That was one joke told on stage by comedian and actor Jim Gaffigan. He jokes about parenting and child birth often during his stand up comedy routines. His jokes that elicit the most laughs usually deal with the fact that he has five children and that he and his wife have had a home birth. He also makes light of the fact that men don’t really do anything to contribute to bringing a new life into this world. Women are capable of doing so much while men just kind of hang around and wait for the action to happen.

“A woman can grow a baby inside her body. And then somehow a woman can deliver a baby thru her body. When you think about the male contribution to life, it’s kind of embarrassing, really.”

8 Dad Might Be Frightened

Ewan McGregor is an actor who has appeared in many popular roles. He is also a father of four children.

“The scariest moment of my life was when my daughter Clara was born. I was trying to be a rock for my wife Eve, but I just got more and more frightened the longer it went on. I was just thinking, ‘I’m not big enough for this. I’m not quite sure if I can handle this one.’ Then it happened and it was so beautiful that I just cried and cried.”

It’s okay for dads to be frightened. it’s a new and scary experience. Just because dad isn’t actually delivering the baby, doesn’t mean that they won’t be frightened. They are seeing their wife in so much pain and discomfort. And for men who like to be their rock and who like to solve problems, it’s hard to realize that there’s nothing they can do except to just be there.

7 Just Be There

Will Smith has three children and has given advice to other dads on how to handle delivery.

“My wife Jada was in labor for eight hours before our son Jaden was born. I was by her side all the while. It was an agonizing time for her and I kept stroking her forehead and reassuring her that everything would be all right. I also gave her ice chips to suck on because she was so thirsty. I’ll never forget those hours, or when our son finally came bawling into the world.”

There’s not much dad can do for a mom in labor. The only thing you can do is follow Will Smith’s advice and be by her side. Get her anything she needs and be wherever she wants you to be. You’ll never forget that time you spent with mom waiting for you child to be born. You might not be giving birth, but you can make sure to just be there.

6 Men Couldn’t Do It

Johnny Depp is a father of two children. There have been lot of debates over the pain women actually feel during labor but Johnny Depp hits the nail on the head with his quote about how men couldn’t do what women do.

“You know, when you welcome a child into the world, you witness the birth of your child, and you’ve been there for that nine month period, you realize that there’s no doubt, there’s no questions that women are the stronger of the sexes. There’s no doubt. Any man who had to carry a child for nine months would cave in about a month or two. And then deliver, you know labor? Yeah, it’s over with.”

Men can wear fake baby bumps around or try on a device that makes them simulate contractions, but there is nothing that can make a man truly understand what labor actually feels like.

5 Be A Cheerleader

Men can be cheerleaders, right? Well Channing Tatum thinks they can. He admits that he’s been a cheerleader — for his wife in the delivery room, that is. That’s also his advice to new dads in the delivery room.

“We like to think of ourselves as big, strong men, and we could handle whatever situation. And reality is they are so much stronger than we could ever be. There’s a reason why we weren’t given that job, evolutionary or whatever. My wife, she’s a warrior. She did it as natural as you can. [As a man], you’re basically a cheerleader. ‘Come on, baby, you can do it.’ I would’ve tapped out in the first.”

Yes men are usually stronger than women. But during delivery, their job is to be a cheerleader. They don’t have to experience labor and birth and Channing Tatum seems pretty excited that men weren’t given that job.

4 Be Prepared For Anything

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell are one of Hollywood’s power couples. They talk openly about the ups and downs of parenting and encourage new parents. Childbirth can also have its ups and downs and Dax and Kristen have experienced it. They ended up needing a C-section, and Dax was a little surprised about everything that happened.

“What they did not warn me about was the c-section, which is way worse. You peek around the sheet and they’re lifting out the baby, but then you notice your wife is completely disassembled… I can see inside of her! I was like, ‘It’s a girl! Your liver’s out… I think. And those are definitely your intestines… And she has your eyes! Oh my God, put her back together correctly.’”

Child birth is not always smooth sailing, and unexpected issues can arise. Just make sure to be prepared and go with the flow.

3 Don’t Speak For Her

Matthew McConaughey has three children and he’s been in the trenches during childbirth. But he knows that he’s not the main person to be making decisions during child birth. Help her in any way you can, but make sure she knows that she can make decisions.

“Contractions started kicking in. We had a 14 hour session, her and I did. I sat there with her, right between her legs…She just clicked into that gear that only a woman has at a time like this. We’d been up 40-something hours, and we went from dead tired to a really steadfast. ‘Let’s handle this, let’s stay in the rhythm. Don’t let the contraction be more than you.’ The doctor wanted to give her an epidural, and we said, ‘Give us a few more hours to keep rocking this.’ I wasn’t speaking for Camila. She had the option of saying, ‘Give me an epidural, right now,’ whenever she wanted.”

2 Savor The Moment

Chris Pratt has quickly grown to be one of the most well known actors in Hollywood. He has one child with actress Anna Faris. Although their childbirth was more difficult than expected. Faris went into labor two months early and their son weighed only three pounds. Their son Jack spent the first part of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit until he was stable to go home. Even though their childbirth was not as expected. Chris Pratt still maintains a great outlook about being a dad.

"I've done all kinds of cool stuff as an actor. I’ve gotten to jump out of helicopters and do daring stunts and play baseball in a professional stadium, but none of them mean anything compared to being somebody's daddy.”

The minute you become a dad in that delivery room, everything changes. It doesn’t matter what else you’ve done or where else you’ve gone, your baby is all that matters.

1 Censor Your Photos

Ryan Reynolds needs no introduction. He has had many great roles in his life but since he became a father, a lot of people know him as the celeb dad who posts funny tweets about his children. Reynolds tweeted, “I’d walk through fire for my daughter. Well not fire because it’s dangerous. But a super humid room. But not too humid, because my hair.” It seems like Ryan knows how to not take the bad parts of parenting too seriously.

He is also known for giving funny parenting advice about child birth. One piece of great advice from Ryan is to censor your photos.

“Be judicious with the photographs you take. A photo of your daughter crowning hanging on the refrigerator is not going to help anyone.”

As a mom, I am thankful for his advice. I actually had to go through my husband’s phone and crop most of his pictures from my childbirth just to make sure nothing got out that wasn’t supposed to get out.

Sources: Readers Digest, Us, Celebrity Babies, She Knows, Scary Mommy, Baby Center