Would You Let Your Mother-In-Law Be Your Birth Partner?

It’s relatively common for your mum to be there when you give birth, but your mother-in-law is a whole different matter.

Yet an increasing amount of women are opting for their partner’s mum to be with them during labour. In fact, stats show that an incredible 20 per cent of women choose their mother-in-law to be at their side – for a number of reasons.

“We all know the cliché of the irritating mother-in-law, but many mums-to-be value the wisdom and experience they provide,” parenting author Clare Byam-Cook tells Mail Online.

“A mother-in-law can provide a loving presence yet remain less emotionally attached than their biological mother.”

Another reason for choosing your mother-in-law for the job is that your partner may need support, too.

“Many [men] welcome the reassurance of having their own mother present,” says Clare.

Female Birth Partners More Helpful
Having your mother-in-law, or indeed your own mum, sister or best friend, by your side might make your baby’s birth go more smoothly, too.

A study of trials, published in the Cochrane Library, found that women who had a female birth partner needed less pain relief and had fewer C-sections or forceps deliveries. The support is thought to help relieve pain and anxiety.

“It seems an irony that the most effective intervention – continuous female support in labour – receives little public support perhaps because it is not sophisticated enough," says Professor Elaine Hodnett of Toronto University, who conducted the research.

Choosing Your Birth Partner
Expectant dads are commonly included in the delivery room, with 90 per cent of births in the UK attended by men. But not all experts believe they're all that nessecary.

“The ideal birth environment involves no men in general,” Michel Odent, a childbirth specialist, tells The Guardian.

“Having been involved for more than 50 years in childbirths in homes and hospitals in France, England and Africa, the best environment I know for an easy birth is when there is nobody around the woman in labour apart from a silent, low-profile and experienced midwife – and no doctor and no husband, nobody else.

“In this situation, more often than not, the birth is easier and faster than what happens when there are other people around, especially male figures – husbands and doctors.”

Odent says that when a man is around during childbirth, a woman’s adrenaline levels shoot up – causing the woman to tense up and slows her production of the hormone oxytocin, which is vital for easing the pain of birth.

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Who did you have as your birth partner? Let us know in the comments.