What Your Partner Can Do - 18 Days to Go…

As the time is coming closer to the labour, your feelings and emotions start to change, especially if it’s your first child. You started getting excited about the baby, scared about what will happen during labour, how will you cope and so on. So I was reading this article about how your partner can make you feel relaxed during labour, so you don’t feel that you have to go through this all by yourself.

For very many couples, being together during labour and welcoming their baby together is an experience that they can’t begin to put in words. And many fathers who have seen their baby born and who played a part themselves say they feel much closer to the child from the very start

So your partner in labour can do the following:

1. Keep you company and help pass time in early stages
2. Hold your hand, give you sips of water, massage your back and shoulders, help you to move about or change positions, or anything else that helps and comforts you as your labour progress and contractions get stronger
3. Remind you how to use relaxation and breathing techniques

I have talked to my husband about all this, and he would love to be a part of all this because he doesn’t want to miss on anything. So don’t just sit there, talk to your partner about what he can do/don’t before/during/after labour to make it comforting for you.

I talked to my midwife, and she emphasized correct breathing technique. Its not like in the hollywoord movies where you go ho-ho-hoooo-ho-ho-hooooo. The correct technique is to take deep long breaths. This helps relieve the pain and relaxes the body, so it can prepare to give birth. This is very important to remember, as you tend to forget things when in intense pain.