is your partner going to watch the birth?

[Freya]

I can understand it can shake them up a bit because it is pretty intense but to turn them off completely? Ridiculous. I wouldnt want to be with a man who thought like that, its selfish. If the idea of watching bub fly out is repulsive then they should stay up the non-action end, nurses dont expect every man (or labouring mother for that matter!) to want to see the gory side of things. To be honest though, it really isnt as gory as people make it out to be.

My husband was there from the moment my labour started til they wheeled bub off to my room while I showered and not standing at my head either, he was front row centre squished between the midwives so he could see everything that was happening. I didnt think he would want to see because believe me he is a blokey bloke and doesnt always have emotional feelings like he should but he did and loved every second of it. He even yelled encouraging things to me while he was watching - "I can see his head, he has hair!" "Your doing great his chin is almost out" "He's got a beautiful face" because it was annoying me the midwives werent saying what was happening. Im sure my vajayjay didnt look very appealing but it hasnt altered his way of viewing me. We still have fantastic sex and he has no qualms about looking at my vajayjay now either. I think its brought us closer together. I asked him the other day if he wanted to stay up the other end this time round and he adamantly insisted that he watch this one too! Ive decided I want to watch this time as well, it makes me sad a little that I didnt get to see what he saw because he talks about all of it (esp seeing our sons head crown and him popping out onto the bed) with so much emotion and awe.
I couldnt imagine not having had him there. I would never have forgiven him if he hadnt been there, its not about them as an individual its about us giving birth to a child that is OURS, his and mine, and I needed him. He considers it the least he can do seeing as I carried our son, vomitted for 20wks, suffered the high blood pressure and swelling AND the pain from labour.