“Say what?!” I hear expectant Mum’s shouting everywhere. “My partner needs a bag too?!” Yes, well…Kind of. We all know that ideally you will have your ‘hospital’ bag packed and ready to go 6 weeks prior to her EDD, just in case right,? But a sure fire way to help enhance your birthing experience, is to make sure that your partner is just as prepared as you – so what should they bring?
1. Focus
You’re birthing partner, is usually the person who knows you better than anyone else in the world (or pretty close to that anyway). You can talk about anything and everything and probably have at one stage or another, however, when a woman is birthing, this is often (but not always) not the time for chat. So a birth partner’s ability to tune in and observe what is going on with Mum, is vital. It’s the small things, like noticing any slight bits of tension creeping in, or spotting annoyance on your face because someone is spoiling your flow, that can make a huge difference in helping to create the best possible birthing experience for you.
2. Confidence
Yes they need to have confidence in your ability to tap into your natural birthing instinct, but they also need to have confidence in themselves. In order to ask questions, if necessary, of your care providers and manage your birthing environment, so you can get on with the important job, of bringing your baby into the world.
3. A Tool Belt
Metaphorically speaking of course. You will have both learnt a plethora of tools and skills for you to utilize on your baby’s birthday. Your birth partner needs to be armed and ready, to help remind, or assist you in using as many or as few of those tools as you need on the day, so get them revising :-).
4. Stamina
Sometimes when you’re in it for the long haul, it’s not just Mum’s strength that is tested, it’s the birth partner’s too. So, having your partner ready and prepared to be there for as long as it takes, remembering the top 3 essentials and most importantly, to employ them with a smile on their face and a reassuring squeeze of the hand, can make all of the difference. As always it’s great to read your comments, what essentials do you think birth partners need, that will help them, to help you during birth?
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64148767@N00/
