this is a great thread!!

with the birth of DD i wanted to have my mum and DH there. in the end DD arrived early and fast so only DH made it (and only just!). in all honesty i felt that only having DH there was a bit lonely and also a big responsibility on him to guide me through the whole thing (we had rather inattentive birth staff).

for any future birth, i will want to have DH, mum (or a good friend) and a doula.

ours was a private hospital and they had very firm limits of 2 support people and no waiting area...

HTH