The process of giving birth may not always be easy or smooth, but partners play an important role in providing a stable and soothing influence in what is a demanding and sometimes stressful experience.

Experts give their suggestions on what partners can do to put mothers at relative ease ahead of the event.

Midwife and Precious Delivery’s Siobhan Obodai-Payne, who produces ready-made bags with everything you need for the birth, gives her advice to partners:

She said: “The first thing is understanding the birth plan. This means knowing the mum’s birth choices and preferences.

“You need to be familiar with the birth process. In order to do this it is heavily advised that both mum and birth partner attend antenatal courses. During the pandemic this has mainly been done online. Please ask your hospital to book you both on to a course. Conversely, I am more than happy to offer one-to-one antenatal education courses to get you ready for labour. These can be booked at: precious-delivery.com/privatemidwife

“Help mum pack the hospital bag! This is key. After delivery mum will be very tired so it is very useful to know where all the essentials are so you can help.

“Look after yourself. Make sure you have snacks and drinks to keep yourself hydrated and alert.

“Be flexible – women need as much support, love and kindness when in labour. Be prepared to give back rubs or hold a fan!”

Ashley Eden, birth educator at Do It Like a Mother, an organisation which supports parents before, during and after births, offers her tips:

 “Practical: When you’re busy focusing on your labour, you’ll need someone to take control of the practical elements. This is where your birth partner can step up – setting up your birth space to feel relaxed and calming, providing your care team with your pregnancy notes and up-to-date information.

“They should also regularly offer you snacks and drinks to keep your energy levels up.

“TOP TIP: Ask your birth partner to pack your birth bags, once you’ve gathered everything you need. They are the person who’ll need to locate things quickly and easily on the big day.”

 “Get familiar with birth: We’ve all seen the countless films and TV shows where the birth partner in the room is shocked, freaked out and – to be frank – useless. It doesn’t have to be that way! Involve your birth partner when you’re learning exactly how your body works during labour and what will be happening at each stage.

“Show them positive birth videos and regularly remind them (and yourself!) that birth in most instances is astounding and powerful, not scary and dangerous.

“A birth partner who knows what is happening as you’re going through it, and has an idea of how you might feel and behave can be the confident powerhouse of support that you need.

“Independent birth preparation classes will welcome you as a couple to learn about birth together.

“TOP TIP: book onto a hypnobirthing/ birth prep course together, where learning the physiology of birth, understanding each stage of labour and sharing positive birth stories/ videos will all be covered for you! A good birth educator will keep you fuelled with the type of information and inspiration you need to both go into birth feeling confident and prepared.

 “Reassurance and relaxation: Going into labour with a toolkit of techniques to help you stay calm and comfortable is a great plan and your birth partner can absolutely be involved in learning, practicing and using these with you. Tools such as light touch massage, breathing techniques and guided relaxations all make wonderful pregnancy homework for you to practise at home! Having a birth partner adept at guiding you through these when you need added support is where they can really level up.

“TOP TIP: Weave relaxation practice into your weekly patterns as something you can both enjoy. Using the hour before you go to bed or making the most of lazy Sundays to practise some of those techniques and listen to relaxation tracks together can be a lovely habit to develop anyway! But so useful and important on the run-up to labour, so that the skills are effortless and natural to utilise on the day itself.

 “Advocate : You will no doubt learn a lot about birth on the run-up to it and hopefully have formed opinions about all manner of routes that labour can take. Maybe you’ve taken an antenatal class or hypnobirthing course and have written some birth preferences. Your birth partner should absolutely know what’s stated in these notes and be familiar with your wants and opinions before the big day. When you’re busy in labour, they can advocate for you and help to create the type of birth experience you envisioned.

“Birth is a team effort and knowing that you have someone by your side and on your side is a powerful asset.

“TOP TIP: Get a coffee date with your birth partner in the diary for the specific reason of going through your birth plan together. Life is busy and it can be hard to find the time at home but this is so important. Carving out that hour or two to really study and talk through your preferences will have huge pay-off.”

Jordan Davis, midwife and developer of Puriskin’s naturally-derived baby skincare range, gives her recommendations:

“It’s really important to offer emotional support to the mum to be, especially reassuring her when struggling during the later phases and transition stage.

“Physical support – massage and light touch during labour can help calm mum down.