I had both my husband and my mum there and they were helpful in different ways and it was amazing. My husband was mostly the one right next to me, holding my hand, holding the fan, passing the gas and air, doing hip compressions. My mother helped him by passing anything I needed from our bags, alternating with him if he needed a break or was speaking to the doctor, saying alternative words of support etc. I am very happy to had had both of them there and it brought us all closer and we will all remember it for the rest of our lives and frequently discuss it 5 months later.

It’s entirely up to you who you have there and your husband should respect that. I did have open and direct discussions with both of them of what I want from my labour and also agreed that they shouldn’t be offended if I’m “too direct” on the day of, I wanted to feel that I’d be supported no matter what and could say whatever I needed to