HE may be one of our most successful actors, but David Jason can't disguise his feelings on one sensitive subject. Faced with the prospect of becoming a father for the first time at the age of 60, the former Del Boy says he is far too much of a wimp to be present at the birth. The baby, conceived with partner Gill Hinchcliffe, is due in March.

''I don't think I'll change my mind as the time of the birth draws nearer. I'm a wimp when it comes to all that sort of business,'' he told OK! magazine.

And by voicing such an opinion, Jason is expressing a somewhat old-fashioned point of view. While up to 30 years ago men were usually kept out of the delivery room, now an estimated 90 per cent of fathers witness the birth of their child.

Bev Atkinson, deputy director of nursing and midwifery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, says that in her experience a figure of 90 per cent sounds rather high.

"Where the partner is around, the majority do want to be there at the birth, but our problem is that a lot of our women are single parents," says Bev.

These days men are encouraged to get involved in the preparation for childbirth but not everyone is keen."

The midwives have no time for self-confessed wimps like Jason, though.

"Some say they would faint if they were there at the birth but we tell them not to be such wimps and that it's not that bad," laughs Bev.

But some health experts believe that the trend has gone too far in automatically expecting men to be in the delivery room. Last year one of the world's leading childbirth gurus, Michel Odent, suggested that women in labour were better off if the expectant father was left to pace the corridor outside. Odent attracted controversy when he said that anxious men tended to make the delivery more difficult for their partners - and were even responsible for a rise in the number of Caesarean sections.

Julia Goodwin, editor of the parenting magazine Prima Baby, agrees that some men are best kept away from the labour suite - and that recently there has been a slight drop in the numbers attending.

''It used to be that the man was pushed outside and left the woman to do the work. Now nine out of ten fathers are at the birth but I think there is a swing back. Some expectant mothers cannot relax if dad is there and they worry more about what he is feeling rather than getting on with the job in hand. Midwives sometimes find that dads get in the way and occasionally they even faint. Sometimes they can get aggressive if they feel that their partner is in a lot of pain and not enough is being done, instead of realising that there is always some pain in childbirth.

"There has been some research which shows that some men find it difficult to see their wife as a sex object after witnessing the birth. It can affect their sex life for a long time afterwards," adds Goodwin. ''I would say to fathers to attend the birth if they can - it is a fantastic moment when a baby is born, it is unique - but men should follow their instincts and if they sense it is not for them, they should not feel forced.''

But Duncan Fisher of Fathers Direct, an information service for new dads, does not agree, believing very firmly that men should be present. He says in one study 90 per cent of women asked at the time of the birth who they most wanted to be there, named the father of their child.

''They want him there during the birth and afterwards for support. The man's role is principally to be there for the mother, to support her - it is an instinctive thing," says Fisher. ''It is also an important moment for the father himself, irrespective of the supportive role, so he can experience the event itself and the emotion it holds.''

He rejects the idea that men should be kept away because of the risk it might affect their sexual relationship with their partner as ''rubbish''.

Fisher adds: ''No one is going to force a man into the delivery room and it may be that in some cases the mother wants him to be kept away. If that is the case then they should sit down and decide between themselves what to do. But it is a myth that men can cause problems by fainting at the birth.''

Instead of trying to put fathers off being birthing partners, the organisation is lobbying for more information to be given to men in advance to prepare them for what to expect in the delivery room.

Helen Davies, an ante-natal tutor with the National Childbirth Trust, agrees with Goodwin that fathers should feel they have a choice.

''I think we should begin by asking them if they want to be there and by asking the mother what she wants. I am convinced that men who do want to be there can play a very valuable role but their presence should not be assumed. If a man is reluctant, I am not sure how helpful he is going to be and how good it will be for the relationship between the couple.

''In these situations the men could be there in the early stages of labour to give emotional support and then, if they find it a bit challenging, a close relative or family friend could take their place.''

She believes David Jason should think carefully before ruling himself out of the experience.

''I sympathise with him," she says. "Some men who have felt the same have prepared themselves for the birth by thinking about it in advance and where they will be in the room, perhaps standing at the mother's head to give support.

''They find that they can cope with the experience and find it very fulfilling. They ended up feeling very much part of it.''