Whoever your birth partner is – your partner, your baby’s father, a close friend or a relative – there are quite a few practical things that he or she can do to help you. The most important thing will probably be just being with you. Beforehand you should talk about what you want, and what you don’t want, so that they can support your decisions. There is no way of knowing what your labor is going to be like or how each of you will cope, but there are many ways in which a partner can help.
They can:
• Keep you company and help to pass the time in the early stages.
• Hold your hand, wipe your face, give you sips of water, massage your back and shoulders, help you move about or change position, or anything else that helps.
• Comfort you as your labor progresses and your contractions get stronger.
• Remind you how to use relaxation and breathing techniques, perhaps breathing with you if it helps.
• Support your decisions, for example about pain relief.
• Help you to make it clear to the midwife or doctor what you need – and the other way round. This can help you to feel much more in control of the situation.
• Tell you what is happening as your baby is born if you cannot see what is going on for yourself.
For many couples, being together during labor and welcoming their baby together is an experience that they cannot begin to put into words.
And many fathers who have seen their baby born and who have played a part themselves say they feel much closer to the child from the very start.
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