Fathers keep out!
I know that not everyone will have access to it but there is a great article by Caroline Flint in the Oct Practising Midwife. Couple of quotes ” First labour is one of the longest and most demanding experiences a couple may ever share… During this intense period the father is usually physically very close, he strokes the labouring woman, he whispers encouragement into her ear, supports her when she needs to walk to the loo and helps her when she gets there, holds her, soothes her, kisses her and is generally the other half of her body.” “… those hospitals who do allow men to take up residence in their postnatal wards find them very helpful, … Men can help their partners to the loo, can pick up and their baby to her, make her a cup of tea, even make the midwives a cup of tea. A man around the house (or postnatal ward) can be invaluable … feeling really useful to his partner, being given time to bond (fall in love) with his baby, being treated as pat of the team by the midwives can do nothing but good.”