How Birth Partners Can Support During Labour
Birth partners play a vital role in providing support during labour. Their involvement can significantly impact the mother’s or birthing persons experience and comfort. Here are practical ways birth partners can assist:
Emotional support: Offering encouragement, holding hands, and being a comforting presence. Labour can be intense, and emotions may run high. Your job is to be a steady, calming presence. Speak in a soothing voice, and remind them that they’re doing great.
Physical support: Assisting with mobility, providing massages to relieve pain, and helping maintain a comfortable environment. Or simply taking charge of practicalities, getting drinks and snacks, removing things that are disruptive from the birth space, maintaining the environment etc. Use massage, counterpressure (especially on the lower back), breathing techniques, and encouraging words. Offer a cool cloth for their forehead or lip balm if their lips are dry. Offer sips of water, ice chips, or light snacks unless otherwise indicated. Labour is exhausting, and keeping their energy up is essential.
Advocacy: Communicating the mother’s preferences to the healthcare and birth team, especially when they may be unable to express their needs clearly. Read and understand the birth plan in advance. This way, you can advocate for their preferences (pain relief options, birthing positions, delayed cord clamping, etc.) if needed. Don’t forget, only the birthing person can give legal consent. Birth doesn’t always go as planned. Be ready to adapt and support decisions made for the safety of both the baby and your partner.
Informational support: Keeping track of labour progress and understanding the stages of labour to help explain what’s happening in real-time. Also taking note of any key information or experiences that they may require to be documented or recorded for future reference.
Stay Present, But Give Space When Needed: Some people want constant encouragement, while others prefer silence or space. Pay attention to their cues and adjust your support accordingly.
Take Care of Yourself Too: You need energy to be a strong support. Eat, stay hydrated, and take short breaks if necessary so you can be fully present.
Celebrate and Support Post-Birth: After birth, they may need help with feeding the baby, getting comfortable, or simply resting. Be ready to assist and celebrate this incredible moment with them.
Being a supportive birth partner involves preparation, patience, and being attentive to the needs of the mother. Birth partners should be carefully considered to ensure that the right people are part of your birth time to promote a calmer and positive experiences. Remember, secondhand trauma can impact partners’ and it is important to ensure that anyone in your birth team has the emotional capacity to support you.