Quarter of pregnant women would rather have mother as birthing partner

Sept. 15, 2010 - PRLog -- The study, from http://www.BabyChild.org.uk, the UK’s leading baby product review website, has revealed who British women would most like as their birthing partner. Whilst over half, 53%, of expectant mothers claimed to want the baby’s father at their side; over a quarter, 26%, stated that they would prefer their mother to be present. 13% comparatively admitted that they would prefer to have their best friend present.

The research was commissioned by BabyChild.org.uk in order to find out more about the preferences of expectant mothers when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth. 1,154 pregnant women were subsequently polled, regarding their birthing intentions.

Over a quarter, 26%, of the expectant mothers who took part in the study explained that they intended on having their mother as their chief birthing partner. Just one fifth, 22%, of these women were not in a relationship with the baby’s father; whilst 78% were still involved.

The 78% of these women who were in a relationship with their baby’s father were asked to stipulate why they would prefer to have their mother as their birthing partner. Over half, 52%, stated that they did not think their baby’s father could ‘cope with the stress of the situation;’ whilst a third, 31%, explained that the presence of their mother would, ‘keep them calmer’ than that of their boyfriend or husband.

One in ten, 9%, explained that they would get ‘annoyed’ by the presence of their baby’s father during childbirth. When asked to further explain why, the majority said that their men would not be able to sympathise with the pain of childbirth. 15% thought that their men would annoy them by trying to crack jokes during childbirth.

Furthermore, 4% of the pregnant women who took part in the study admitted that they would prefer to give birth alone. When asked to stipulate why; the majority, 61%, claimed that they did not want to ‘distress’ anyone else, should something go wrong during childbirth. 19% stated that they thought they could cope better with the situation alone, whilst 8% felt they’d become ‘embarrassed’ if somebody else was present.

Jill Tovey, co-founder of http://www.BabyChild.org.uk, commented on the findings:

“Although many would assume that it would be unthinkable not to have both parents present at birth when in a steady relationship, it would appear from these results that many women would indeed prefer the comfort of a close female companion, such as their mother or a friend. The largest concern amongst them seemed to be a fear of their male partner being unable to cope with the stress of the situation that childbirth inevitably generates; something that mothers, having gone through it themselves, would invariably be more accustomed to.”

She continued:

“The most important thing for an expectant mother is to feel safe and calm when the time to give birth arrives. The job of a birthing partner is to provide support and assurance at all times, so making sure you choose the right person for the job is vital; even if it does mean leaving the father in the waiting room!”

ENDS

LINK: http://www.BabyChild.org.uk

For more information please contact Emma Kent of 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on emmak@10yetis.co.uk.  

Editors Notes
Babychild.org.uk looks for real reviews from real parents
The shop features over 1,000 products, which have been rated and reviewed by real parents. This number is constantly growing everyday.