Tips For Supporting Your Partner In Labor

Just like when any guy finds out his wife was pregnant, I had a lot of mixed feelings at the beginning, and these would range from extremely happy, to being extremely worried. Of course all this is perfectly natural and it is almost unavoidable, but throughout the pregnancy one thing I worried about the most during my wife's pregnancy, was the whole labor process, and what my role would be in this. We had taken a pain management class, which was a three-hour course and showed us various techniques that we could use while my wife was in labor. Since where we lived they did not offer a Lamaze class, this was the best alternative we could find. So while I definitely was not feeling extremely confident in what was going to be needed from me when my wife went into labor, I figured I would just have to do my best when the time came.

Our baby ended up coming almost a week before she was due, whenever my wife went in for her weekly appointment, and found out that her protein levels were extremely high. The doctors told us that they were worried about something happening to her kidneys, and that they felt the best thing to do going forward, was to induce labor. My wife and I weren't really prepared to hear this, and it was definitely a nerve-racking experience, as she was induced within a couple hours after we had spoken with Dr. Things started out well enough, as she was induced right around midnight. Throughout the early morning hours she was doing extremely well, and by mid morning it was time for her to push. My wife ended up pushing for several hours, and my role during all of this, was basically to help support her neck and remind her to keep her breathing under control. Eventually, the doctor decided that the baby was not going to be able to get past her pubic bone, and she suggested that it was time to use forceps.

Up until this time my wife was doing very well, and was not screaming or in any major discomfort, like you see in the movies. However, once we got into the operating room and the doctor used the forceps, my wife screamed like I never heard her do before. She had completely flipped out and I was extremely worried as she was crying and lost complete control of herself, and this is when I was the one who had to be in control. I got her to focus and look at me, while she got her breathing back under control. This was one of the most intense moments of my life, seeing my wife in so much pain, and worrying about my child as well. Thankfully, her next contraction came quickly and she was able to push our baby daughter out. This is why it is so extremely important to be there for your partner, to support her both physically and emotionally, and realize that you will at some point in time will have to step up to the plate as well.


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If you are having trouble dealing with the challenge of being a new parent, let William offer his helpful advice on his parenting blog, BabyDollStroller.net. There you can view his latest article on stress and pregnancy effects