What to expect at the birth of your child

Screaming, yelling, swearing you beautiful partner to turn into something from the exorcist, well in some cases we can't lie that is true. The plain fact is that it is difficult to tell you what to expect as all births are different, all men are different some choose not to be present at all and wait at a safe distance as most of their fathers did, others choose to be present but to stay at their partners head and not to look at the emerging child, others choose to be fully involved and watch the baby emerge and sometimes a more recent occurrence is for fathers to video the whole birth.(not sure who would want to watch it, maybe there will be a spate of wine cheese blood and birth parties).

If you choose to attend the birth as over 70% of men do it can be difficult to watch a person that you love in so much discomfort and your natural instinct is to try to fix it but there is nothing you can do other than watch and try to be as reassuring as you can possibly be. In some cases the partner is not allowed to be present at the birth at all this is rare but is for medical reasons and can't be helped. The decision of what to do is completely down to personal preference and it is a choice that is best discussed before the event.

Whatever level of involvement you have it is a tense time and highly emotional for all concerned so be prepared to feel scared, tearful and then elated when it is all over. It is an amazing feeling to become a Dad and when all is said and done no matter what you decided the result will be the same, at the end of it all you will be handed a baby and you will be responsible for them, your world will change for ever.