Who was at your birth and why? Options

[-Megs-]

As the title says, who was present at your birth and why were they there (support people, midwives, obs, etc etc etc)

[Becca13]

I had my DH, and my midwive/s and my Ob was in and out, he consults near the hospital I was at.
I was going to have my sister there as well but decided against it in labour (I thought she may have annoyed me a bit too much ) and I didn't feel I could have my mum there without DH's mum as well, she would have taken it the wrong way i'm sure.
My DH (DP at the time) was awesome, hardly left my side at all and didn't ask any questions.
My main midwife was also brilliant, a woman I had never met before but we just clicked, another blew in at a time and I nearly punched her.
And my Ob came in and told me when to push LOL
I forgot one, the guy who actually performed my caeserean LOL a little Chinese man, very funny little guy
Don't think I had any "unnecessary" people there

[Avery]

I had my daughter in my small town public hospital, and honestly believe that the care I received during my labour was as good as any private hospital going round. I didn’t get to choose my midwife, but was very lucky to have some good ones rostered on that day.

In my labour I had:

My hubby – for obvious reasons
My mum – I needed her there firstly because I knew that she would be the person who could look me in the eye and tell me to get a hold of myself if I started to get out of control (a big fear of mine) Plus I’m a bit of a mummies girl - when I’m sick or in pain I just want her around.
Midwife (Amanda) - She was an angel. I could not have asked for anyone better for my birth. She was with me every step of the way, didn’t have a break and I don’t remember her ever stepping out of the room. She got me to focus when I needed too, and was genuinely excited to be the one helping me bring my baby into the world. She will always have a very special place in my heart for how she helped me through my labour
Midwife (Anne) – she was the midwife who admitted me and she stayed with us for about the first 2-3 hours. Another beautiful lady
Trish – A nurse at the hospital just about to start midwives training. She had never seen a birth before so I agree to allow her to stay (even I was surprised when the “yeah that’s ok” came out of my mouth!) but I’m so glad, she was a huge tower of support too. I think the best thing for me was that I concentrated on what Amanda was telling Trish through the birth, so I knew what was coming next, if it was normal, what it looked like or what it was was going to feel like etc.
My Doctor – Showed up about 30 minutes before I gave birth.

All in all (apart from the pain) I cannot fault anyone who was there for my birth. I feel extremely lucky I had the people there I did

[~Emma~]

My husband, my mum and m midwife, and as she was born a 2nd midwife came in to help. No docs at all, the mdwife did my stitching!!

[~Melissa~]

With Will:

My DH

My primary midwife

A midwife student (with my permission)

Obstetrics Reg and Resident (Consultant and been in and out) (due to needing a forceps delivery)

Paediatrician (and resident I think) (due to concern for Will - high risk of meconium aspiration and distress)




With Angus:

My DH

My midwife

[Penny P Star]

With Elka - my hubby , a midwife and my obs... my parents and brother were outside in the waiting room

[loveheart]

half the hospital apparently! I went through 3 shift changes...oh can't forget that someone from the canteen came in to see if anyone wanted to buy salmon left over from a conference. I digress.

My hubby well he had no choice really
Mum as she reads me so well and her and hubby bounce of each other so well.
3 different students
3 different midwifes
2 docs
and every other single nurse in a 5km radius to see a what the fuss was about.

[~Melissa~]

3 different students
3 different midwifes
2 docs
and every other single nurse in a 5km radius to see a what the fuss was about.

At the actual birth??

How did they all fit?

[sjm]

With Nate- DH, 2 midwifes and dr

With Dane- DH 2 midwifes (1 trainee) that had been with me for a while, the head midwife, and dr i think. Was set to go for a c-sect so cant actually remember, there was probably more as it was so quick and they were almost ready to transfer me to theatre

[Kookies]

There were 14 people in the theatre when my daughter was born (scheduled c-section because she was 10 weeks early and severely growth restricted). I had:

- Me
- Poor freaked out husband - initial he found the whole dressing up as a doctor rather exciting but he didn't cope so well with the gore of it all.
- Anaethetist (other than his main job of administering the spinal block he was also our photographer/videographer for the day... I am forever grateful as he took amazing photos and video that DH would never had been able to get. If I could find him I'd love to thank him for that).
- Anaesthetics nurse (poor women kept having to answer the phone as somehow the hospital switch phone had been diverted accidently to our theatre (it was a public holiday) and calls kept coming in about visiting hours and whether the gift shop was open!)
- My obstetrician
- Obstetrics registrar - I think it is common to have an assistant for c-sections
- Midwife #1 - this was the same midwife who took care of me before and after the birth. I was lucky that she was on because she'd also been the same midwife who admitted me as an antenatal patient when I was very stressed and unhappy.
- Midwife #2 - not sure why there were two midwives
- Theatre nurse # 1 - she seemed responsible for making sure all the instruments were ok and available
- Theatre nurse # 2 (he was a bit odd - told me he was disappointed to be assisting here because there had been a serious car crash that arrived at the hospital and he preferred traumas )
- A NICU nurse - I think this is standard for premie births
- Neonatal Advanced Fellow - took care of our daughter straight after birth and started her respiratory support etc
- Neonatal registrar - he was in training
- someone else who I can't remember... there were definitely 14 as DH and I counted and remarked on this quite a bit!

[nephthys]

1. DH (who didn't do much but I was still grateful he was there)

2. My good friend who's also a midwife ('A'). She was there the whole time and even though it wasn't her hospital (and hence no insurance!), she caught my boy.

3. My lovely Obs. He arrived as DS's head was out then he 'helped' my midwife/friend turn him and pass him between my legs (I gave birth on my knees). Even though he was only there at the end, I have no regrets about having him because was so reassuring and caring.

4. Several other midwives who breezed in and out occasionally. Because it was confirmed A was a qualified midwife and they were understaffed that night, they didn't bother me much, which was fantastic.


Because essentially it was my friend and my husband for most of the labour, the feelings I recall from the delivery are calm, darkness, quiet, independence and trust. And even though I was in a hospital room, it didn't feel like it, and I had the bonus of staff through a door if things went haywire - and to clean up the atrocious mess afterwards. It was almost the best of both worlds.

[rosered]

Gwen: DH, a couple of different midwives (there was a shift change an hour in), a doctor and a paediatrician (Gwen got a bit stuck).

Midge: DH and the lovely midwives Grace and Kim. I got pot luck but they were fabulous.

[MrsJo]

There were a lot of people in there!

Jon of course.

My lovely Ob.

My anaesthetist.

My midwife.

Our usual Paediatrician.

Multiple theatre staff and nurses, and a few student nurses who I agreed to allow in sat right back and just observed.

I didn't count them all exactly, but would have been 12 or more.

[AK2]

With Will:

My DH

My primary midwife

A midwife student (with my permission)

Obstetrics Reg and Resident (Consultant and been in and out) (due to needing a forceps delivery)

Paediatrician (and resident I think) (due to concern for Will - high risk of meconium aspiration and distress)

That's just what I came in here to write (with the same name and everything!). They found meconium in the waters and so we had the Paed & a student in there...in fact, it seemed like everyone bought a student along for show and tell.

After labouring for almost 26 hours, I didn't really give a damn who was there at the end, I was exhausted. The majority of my actual labour took place with just me & DH in a dark room, so I still feel positive about my birth experience, despite it sounding like a big deal!

[~ela~]

Too many people for my liking!! I had a simliar list to Kookies (but don't know everyone's title, or what they were even there for, but they were all at their own spot/station, then there were a few at the business end).

At first I was in the labour room just with Brett and the one midwife. This would have been ideal for me however things then went pear shaped, Ethan went into distress and I wasn't dilating and I then had people (wouldn't even know their title) in there trying to convince me to have a csection.

When being wheeled into theatre I counted 14 people, plus me, my midwife and hubby made 17! After that I don't remember much at all as the epidural literally sent me to sleep.

This time around I am hoping to deliver in the labour room with hubby and a midwife or 2.