Should you let your children watch you give birth?
After a woman shared pics of her 2-year-old with her at her water birth, we asked our MFM mums if they'd do the same...
We really loved these photos of a mum giving birth while her toddler looked on. And we were very taken, a while back, with the fact that Jools Oliver had her daughters at the birth of her newest son, River.
But that made us think: would we ever consider having our little ones with us in labour? Would you?
So, we decided to ask our mums on our Facebook page – and here's what they told us...
Yes, do it!
"My 2-year-old little girl was there with me for the birth of her little brother," says Kimberley R. "She was very good and now has a very close bond with her brother.
"I loved that she could be part of it. But I wasn't going to force it, either: my dad was upstairs, ready to look after her."
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And Deborah P tells us, "My older 2 (11 and 10 at the time) came to the hospital with us to have their little brother. No other option... So they saw me doing my humming through contractions on the way to the hospital.
"They sat quietly in the family room. I packed a bag for them in case they had to come (snacks and drinks) and they had their iPads for entertainment.
"They only had to wait about a hour, then their little brother arrived. Pregnant with number 4 now, so not sure what we are going to do with that little brother now, as he'll be 18 months old."
And Kathryn G sounds as though she'd quite like to do it but isn't sure it wold work out: "I'm jealous of everyone and their kids that sit still!" she says.
"My son is only 14 months, and he'll be 17 [months] when baby number 2 arrives, but he'd be running about like crazy, not sitting nicely in the pool. Think I'll just get him a babysitter and save myself any extra hassle."
No, don't!
Though Sophie M has a very different take: "My 6 and 3-year-old were terrified when I was labouring at home. They still remember now, 10 weeks later. Wouldn't ever put them through that again."
And Laura N agrees: "Nope, definitely not for me: would not want my boys seeing me in pain and bleeding."
Hmmmm, lots of takes on this one and, for some mums like Deborah P, of course, having your children with you at the birth might be out of necessity rather than anything else. But what do you reckon?
Would you like to have you children with you as you give birth? Or do you think it would be too much for them – or you – to handle?
Tell us in the comments below or over on Facebook.
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Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
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