The role of your birth partner throughout pregnancy. Although the information I talked about in this course is primarily directed towards pregnant moms, I don't want to downplay the role of your husband or dad to be. Unless you have circumstances where your baby's father isn't around, which I'll talk about in a minute. As far as where you can get support, it's really beneficial for you to make sure you're including him in pregnancy and postpartum decisions. All of the baby is growing inside your body, it is his baby just as well. And if you try to do everything yourself, you're likely going to end up feeling alone and overwhelmed.

And you should never feel like you're in this alone. As your baby grows up, you will both be involved in raising your child and making decisions. So your pregnancy really is the start of that. You also don't want to deprive yourself of the support you need both during pregnancy and labor. So you can talk with your husband or dad to be about any decisions that come up. Let him be involved in making preparations for the baby.

Ask him to go with birth classes with you and so on. The importance of having a birth partner. If your husband and dad to be as your birth partner, I would say that's ideal. However, not every woman has this luxury. So if you don't have this option Regardless of the reason, I'd highly recommend finding a reliable friend or family member that's willing to take on this role. Pick someone you're comfortable with that you'll be able to bounce ideas and decisions off of during pregnancy.

And although you'll be the one making the decisions, you should still have someone you can talk to about them besides just your doctor. Ask your birth partner to go to birth classes with you, as well as a tender labor and birth. If you aren't able to have someone committed to staying with you during labor, I really recommend you consider hiring a doula that you're comfortable with. It can be beneficial to have a doula regardless, but especially if you don't have the support of anyone else because you really need it from someone. Labor is a lot to go through and you don't want to go it alone. You need someone who can stay by your side If you're having a hospital where the doctors, midwives and nurses will not be with you every second because they have other patients and responsibilities that they're balancing.

So to do next, fill out Page Six of the first trimester workbook, know who your birth partner is and think about the ways you'll need their support. Make sure you communicate with them about how you want their support. And when you're ready. The next lesson in this section is part 10. Other things you can get an early start on. Just as a reminder, don't rush through this course make sure you take time to think about each lesson and to make the necessary preparations during each stage of your pregnancy.