According to research by charity the National Childbirth Trust two out of five (39%) pregnant women and 56% of expectant fathers are now "very" worried that something will be wrong with their baby.
Let your partner handle things for a while, and remember, it's not the end of the world if he or she puts the diaper on wrong or feeds the baby Stage 2 food instead of Stage 3, she said.
Insurers and employer groups have stepped up pressure to stop early-elective deliveries because they can lead to malpractice suits when things go wrong and much higher costs if a baby ends up in a neonatal intensive-care unit.
"Nick wasn't just the baby son of Plath and Hughes and it would be wrong to think of him as some kind of inevitably tragic figure, " said the unnamed friend.
The Baby Peter case saw a picture emerging of a beleaguered profession, under attack when things go wrong but often dealing with high caseloads and staff shortages, said BBC social affairs correspondent Alison Holt.