Get involved with your baby right from the start.

One of the most intimate and moving moments of your life will be the arrival of your baby into this world. The sheer magic and awe at being present at the dawning of this new miracle of human life will stay with you for the rest of your life. It will be the most meaningful and emotionally charged event you have ever experienced and yet it will seem to go by ‘in the blink of an eye’.

Before the birth you may have lots of qualms about seeing blood, or seeing your partner in pain and being there in such a highly charged emotional situation, so you may be hesitant initially. The significance of the occasion once your partner goes into labour will make you forget about all those concerns. The more you realise that this is something so life changing and so profound, the more you will want to be there. It will be even more meaningful for you, as you will have been communicating with your baby and touching him through his mother’s tummy for the last six months.

Therefore, I would strongly recommend that you, as a father to be, do everything to make sure that you are there at the birth of your child and witness his arrival into this world.

Hold him as soon as he is born and you will see and feel immediately the intimate and unique bond between you. When you first look into his eyes as his father and reflect that this little being is part of you, it will start immediately. You will never ever forget that moment. It will remain as vivid in your mind for many years into the future, as the day he was born.

Your role as Dad is to stay calm at all times during Labour and Childbirth.

You may think that once the labour process starts, everyone else will know what they are doing, and you can get wrapped totally up in the whole process of childbirth and leave it all to the Professionals in the room. Although this is very true, you also have to remain calm at all times, after all it is your baby who is about to arrive into this world and you are the person your partner trusts the most.

The pain of childbirth is so intense for your partner, that sometimes she will say and want to do things that, very possibly, you have never heard her do before. At this moment, reason goes completely out the window for her, but it mustn’t for you. Your job is to reassure her and encourage her all the time, listening to what she is saying, but ignoring it if she says something silly or offensive. You need to stay calm and if you do, you will keep the stress levels down for everyone in the room.

Of course her behaviour will depend on what type of pain relief she has opted for in her Birth Plan, so you need to ensure she receives the relief that she decided upon before she went into labour. Once your new baby arrives, hold her in your arms as soon as possible. It will be one of the most magical moments of your entire life. Then place your little baby in her mothers’ arms. This will reinforce the sense of bonding between you, as you pass your baby to her mum, as well as demonstrating the fact that you are all in it together.

Once you are all left alone, take time to tell your partner how well she has done throughout the whole labour and childbirth. She will be feeling absolutely exhausted and at the same time elated, yet possibly a bit melancholic. By calmly reassuring her, it will help her feel good about the whole experience despite the pain and physical trauma her body has just been through.

You may find that you also will have a ‘let down’ moment and suddenly find you have no energy as you feel both elated and exhausted as well. You have just ridden the ’emotional rollercoaster’ with your partner, but you have managed as you stayed calm throughout and got through it together.