to young??

[Candice]

My sister has just expressed an interest in being with me in the delivery room as a support person, Till she mentioned this, I had not even thought about who I was having

Now my question is my sister will be 16 at the time and I am not sure if that is a little young to be having her there for support...

Any thoughts??

[Candice]

I have a feeling that she will deal with it ok, she is not the panicy type and said that she would like to help so DP is more relaxed, maybe I should atlest, for now show her footage of a birth,.. where could I get that from??

[christy]

Good idea on getting some footage, even having her attend an antenatal class would help prepare her for everything. I had my mum in with me who froze during the labour, so she wasn't able to offer support, but just having her there helped me.

[{sarah}]

I was going to say the same thing as Christy, get her to go to your antenatal classes with you so she can see what's going to happen.

My mum was there with us & while it was tough on her (she cried a few times) it was great to have someone help Aaron when he needed a rest.

[~Raven~]

That is so sweet that she wants to be a part of the birth. Is she a mature 16? If she is then she will most likely handle it fine.
Maybe too suggest to her that if she's not coping with watching you give birth that she can wait outside if she wants to, no harm done. I said this to my SIL who at 24 was quite a bit older but still was worried about being squeamish, but ended up staying and was a teriffic water girl.

[Candice]

Yeah she is fairly mature for her age, and generally not squeamish, so I think I will just do my best to prepare her and see how we go, If she can't do it in the end, thats fine I guess..

[siren]

Hi candice

I remember when I was 15 and I was a support person for my cousin (unfortunately she didn't have a very supportive partner) I was there with all 4 of her births and It was a great experience for me to be able to support a family member when she had no one else there for her. I think your sister will be fine as long as she knows what she is in for. I really do think an antenatal class and videos etc will prepare her for the experience.

[*Yvette*]

Hi Candice. I think she will be fine. I had my 12 year old (11 at the time) with me for Angus' birth, and she was at her sister's birth too when she was 4, (she missed the actual moment, but was there most of the labour & moments after the birth, during 3rd stage etc. I'm hoping both my girls will be there this time too, but not Angus for the actual birth. Watching some videos is a great idea.

The main thing is if you feel comfortable with her. You want to be totally relaxed and not feel inhibited at all. I think it's a great experience for anyone to attend a birth. I've never attended one myself other than my own.