ALONE OR SURROUNDED, YOU DECIDE
Scheduled or not, the day of birth is always charged with intense emotion, mixed with immense joy, tender impatience and a hint of very natural fear. Of course, you will have pragmatically anticipated practical questions (will you go to the maternity ward alone, accompanied by your dad, a friend, a family member, etc.), but for the rest, it’s a day where your inner self must come first. Also, regarding the presence of a loved one by your side in the birthing room, there is no question of giving in to diktats or pressure. It's up to you to decide. You have the freedom to prefer to simply be surrounded by the medical team, or to want to experience this moment accompanied by one or even several people of your choice. However, check what your maternity unit's policy is on the issue: some limit support to a single person. And don't worry about conventions: nothing stops you from changing your mind at the last moment about the identity of your companion!
ABOVE ALL YOU MUST BE COMFORTABLE AND CONFIDENT
From the first close contractions to the baby's arrival, you will experience a tremendous emotional upheaval. Your psychological comfort will then be your best ally. To best support you, reassure you, make you laugh and smile too, the person at your side must above all be someone in whom you have complete trust. Someone with whom you will feel no brakes, no embarrassment in letting go. Someone with whom you feel in perfect symbiosis to share these very intimate moments.
TAKE THE TIME TO DISCUSS IT WITH THE FUTURE DAD
For many mothers-to-be, the presence of their partner in the delivery room is obvious. And many future dads want to participate in the event and experience the magical moment when baby lets out his first cry. This closeness of the couple at the moment when the duo becomes a trio is a very strong experience on an emotional level. And although this pattern has become almost a norm, it must remain a free choice. For one as for the other. Do not hesitate to ask each other questions in all sincerity. Perhaps you secretly want to surround this moment in mystery, which, although a symbol of your love, is nonetheless associated with a clinical protocol? Perhaps he, for his part, feels anxious about the hospital environment, uncomfortable with the idea of feeling too much of a spectator and not enough of an actor in such powerful moments? Even when the preparation for childbirth has been followed as a duo, it is always preferable to calmly approach the question of D-day well before the term. If both of you have no doubt about your most intimate desire to experience the birth process together, this moment can only strengthen your bond. And if you or the future dad are vaguely reluctant, exposing your feelings, finding the best approach together, will also only strengthen your romantic ties. Don't forget that the presence of the future father can also be located right next door, in the corridor and combined with a few forays into the birthing room to share the best of the emotion together.
A COMPANION, A FRIEND, A FAMILY MEMBER...
In the absence or in support of the future father, you can ask your best friend or a family member in whom you trust and to whom you will assign a well-defined role so that he does not feel displaced but useful. And while no one, again, should accept this role reluctantly, you should also not give in to the insistent suggestions of anyone (mother-in-law, mother, etc.) who does not seem to you to provide adequate support. Moreover, you can perfectly choose to be assisted by a birth attendant. Trained to relieve future parents during pregnancy, its mission also consists of being present during childbirth to provide psychological and physical support to the mother-to-be, taking over from the father or another loved one, while breathe, or even be a link between the birth room and the corridor...