Labor Support Tips for Husbands
As a partner to a woman in labor, your most significant role is to provide support and encouragement during childbirth. The best way to do that is to know what to expect, so before it’s gone time, make sure you understand the different stages of labor, you know how to time contractions and when to head to the hospital, and you’ve discussed the birth plan with your partner. In the delivery room, you’re mom’s advocate and her primary source of comfort.
Be ready to take the upper hand:
A woman in labor is not always in the best condition to make hard decisions or assertive requests. As her partner, make sure you’re ready to step in if it calls for it. You may need to help her logically weigh her options about certain medical decisions; or ask that her healthcare practitioner be woken from a nap, that an anaesthesiologist be paged, or that a mirror be brought in so that she can sneak a peek at what’s happening.
Learn what to expect:
Sitting in the hospital in the thick of labor is not the right time to be flipping through a pregnancy book or notes from childbirth class, so finish your reading beforehand. And go to a childbirth class with an open mind – you’ll get solid information and a sense of how other partners are planning to get through the event.
Keep a track:
Unlike in the movies, most women labor for hours before going to the hospital. Indeed, it’s usually more comfortable to spend the early stages of Labor at home. And many hospitals won’t admit a woman in Labor until her contractions are regular, painful, and coming every three to five minutes and the cervix is starting to dilate. You may want to time the contractions periodically to get a sense of how things are progressing, but you don’t need to do so continuously. Free contraction-timer apps can track things for you.
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