Let’s admit it… you never know what the birth is going to be like, and this makes it difficult to really understand how birth-coaching skills are a must for any dad-to-be. As the birth unfolds, your partner will expect you to ‘be there.’ But what does that really mean? Do you see yourself standing around, or do you see yourself helping? And what does helping mean? You need to have the right birth-coaching skills to know how to help your partner stay in control. That’s your role in the birth; that’s how you help, and with our father-coached childbirth skills – developed by dads that were once in your position – you’ll be able to become a great birth-coach in no time.
Who controls ‘the labour’?
This is a question that everyone wants to know. Well, the answer is not as simple as you might think: it’s not the one giving birth; it’s your baby that controls the labour. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few things you can do to help:
- You can help your partner by preparing her body to become a birthing body. This will only take a few minutes at a time from 24-weeks on, increasing the further along your partner is in her pregnancy.
- You can learn to effectively observe and listen to the messages your baby is giving through your partner’s body. You’ll learn things like how to help your partner have effective contractions and how to avoid stressful and negative behaviours. Dads-to-be are especially good at reading these kinds of messages!
- You – together with your partner – can help your baby move down, though, and out your partner’s body more easily and as a team.
Keeping It Simple: Father-coached Childbirth Skills and You
Let’s keep it simple: you just want to know what to do. Some of the most important Better Birthing skills we’ll teach you is how to ‘read contractions.’ This will be one of your first steps on the path to becoming a great birth coach; to learn the kinds of father-coached childbirth skills that former dads-to-be had to learn, too.
Some of the things you’ll learn are:
- How to tell if contractions are following a bell-shaped curve
- How to tell when contractions are plateauing off
- How to tell when contractions are getting more intense, longer, and closer together
- How to tell if contractions are changing or staying the same
- How to tell if changing positions changes the curve of the contractions
- How to tell if your partner sounds stressed
- How to tell if your partner is tense
With these, you’ll quickly come to realize that your baby is actually talking to you through your partner’s body, meaning you’ll come to know how to understand your baby’s needs and thus how to help your partner give birth to them. Then, you’ll finally have the right knowledge and the right skills to know how you can help, no matter how the birth happens to unfold.
Learn Birthing Better skills in the privacy of your own home. Your birth-coaching skills can mean the difference between your birthing partner will cope or feel overwhelmed. She’ll praise you for helping her cope and resent you for leaving her to do the hard work of giving birth by herself.
Birthing Better is housed in Common Knowledge Trust