So I have a real paranoia that this labor is going to be really fast, and my birth team might not be all assembled in time. My midwife seems to share this concern (the baby is REALLY low in my pelvis already at 36 weeks). She gives out a standard "what to do if the midwife isn't there yet" sheet for partners, but frankly it's really crummy and includes all sorts of hands-on "interference" that I know even my midwife doesn't actually make standard practice. I think I'd flip if my husband put on procedure gloves before catching (he caught last time, barehanded, with the midwife's foreknowledge and in her presence) or pulled on the umbilical cord to bring out the placenta. I can only assume that the midwife gives it out because she hasn't come up with anything better and feels the need to give out something.
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Now, if I had to pick one person to be with me in labor, my husband would be it. He is the most ridiculously competent, unflappable person I hope ever to meet. He has also already seen one birth, and was a rock throughout. But he is a very slow reader and works long hours, so there's really no question of having him read entire sections of books so that he has the knowledge he might need. I would feel better if he had some opportunity to review the basics, particularly the things most "likely" to go wrong and the basic ways to deal with them. Is anyone aware of a less interventionist, couple page checklist or review somewhere online, maybe one intended for partners attending UCs or something?
