We recently had our first baby and thought like sharing few things which i learned from my experience from being a support person for my wife.

As pregnancy delivery dates approaches here are following things you can do as support person for women who is going into labor.

• By the end of 36 weeks decide on baby’s name, just make that call and don’t wait till last moment to decide on baby’s name as last thing you want to do on day after delivery is waste time thinking about baby names. You can utilize the time well by being near baby and mom.
• This one is a no brainer after 37 weeks if you are labor support person always keeps your cell phone handy or some means through which you could be reachable so that you can reach home within short notice.
• Get the crib and car seat installed by or before 36 weeks. Get the car seat inspected by an expert or police. Police appointments are difficult to get so you will need to take appointments well in advance so don’t wait till last minute.
• Get tour of hospital and fill-out the pre-admission form, checkout the designated parking places for women in labor at your hospital. These things help you to reach hospital very fast as last thing you want to be doing is walking  with your partner in labor around the hospital building looking for right  department.




• Store the number of labor & delivery in your phone book so that you can reach them whenever you need to.
• Make sure you always have fuel tank full with gas as you might need to go to hospital anytime after 36 weeks.
• Take your partner for regular walks throughout the pregnancy, this prevents her from gaining too much weight & also during latter part of pregnancy it helps baby to get in zero station or in right position for delivery.
• Prepare a bag to carry to hospital along with you with spare clothes for you as well as your partner. Bag can include various items including diapers, sanitary napkins  & some snacks for support person. Don’t offer any food to mother be once labor pain starts.
• As support person if your partner complains about labor pains, first thing you need to do is not panic or make her panic (this usually happens if you are first time parents).Put yourself and your partner at ease. Get a timer and start measuring frequency of contractions. Contractions are measured from start of first contraction to start of next. If they are five minutes apart and lasting a minute its time to go to hospital. Don’t rush to hospital at first onset of labor pains as hospital staff can send you back. Best thing to do is walk during those initial hours of labor.
• On the D-day (day of delivery) before you go to hospital. Make sure the support person has had some food to eat because labor can last up to 12-16 hrs so support person should be well rested and had enough to eat else they could get exhausted by time labor ends.
• Create a formatted SMS or email messages with news of newborn saved in your draft folder filled with names of people whom you going to send. So you can just fill in necessary details and just hit “Send” button.
  Preferably switch off cell phone after you made call to parents or immediate family members. Last thing you want is a distant relative calling you in hospital and taking up precious minutes of your talk time which you could have well been utilized with your partner and new born. Let your immediate family member know well in advance that you will be unreachable during and few hours after labor.
• For first few weeks if possible keep the amount of guests to hospital and at home to as minimum possible. At minimum make sure that you don’t make too much noise near the baby for first few weeks as it can get overwhelming for newborn.
• When your partner is in labor you need to be near her and support her, remind her of breathing techniques you had learnt in pregnancy classes. Also give her back massages from time to time to put her at ease during those difficult times.Here is good website which tells you about breathing techniques .
  Practice them breathing regularly so that you get used to it and comes to you naturally during labor.
• The environment can get really stressful especially if labor goes on long times however keep your cool Don’t get into arguments with Doctor / nurses or staff and ask him unnecessary questions. Take it easy as Doctors know what they are doing better than you so let them decide what’s best for you. There are certain things which might be out of their control as well since labor is natural process.

Congratulation’s in advance!! & Hope you have a hassle free labor.