Choosing a birth partner is an important decision for every pregnant woman.
Can you put up with your husband being in the same room? Would you rather have a female friend there? Do you just need your mum?
And while all of the above are common options for labouring women, what about asking your dad to help out?
It seems a growing number of women are turning childbirth into a family affair, by inviting their mothers, fathers and even in-laws to watch them bring new life into the world.
Essential Baby spoke to a woman named Rebecca who had her dad in the delivery room with her.
She told them: “He was very emotionally overwhelmed at the experience.”
“He cried quite a lot of tears when he saw me going through my contractions, but he was very supportive, saying: ‘You can do this.’”
Another mum on Reddit said she had her dad in the room too, and it really wasn’t that big of a deal.
“It’s not like anything has to be seen. My dad stood in the corner,” she explained.
One mum told WhatToExpect.com: “My dad was in the room when my first was born, he was the one who took the pictures of my son coming out. For the second, they were half way across the country so we Skyped and they watched the delivery that way.”
While many women agreed they were fine with their dads being there if they stayed at the head of the bed, when the time came it seemed this was difficult to implement.
“I thought he could stand behind my shoulder, but then they put a huge mirror pointing at my ass so I could see (even though I said no) and so my dad saw the whole show…I just wasn’t comfortable with it.”
