Pregnancy and birth is a special time for dads too. While the focus of midwifery care is on the physical development of their pregnant partner, I understand the need to include dads equally in the actual preparation for labour and birth. According to Patrick Houser, author of the Fathers-To-Be Handbook, A roadmap for the transition to fatherhood, "there is a monumental paradox surrounding birth which goes largely unrevealed. During birth a woman is doing the most female, womanly thing any woman can, and yet she is using what is typically considered to be ‘masculine energy'. Birth is very energetic and physically demanding. Fortunately, if she is not interfered with, she has significant hormonal resources to assist her in carrying out this ‘work'."

"The father at birth, on the other hand, is at his best when he enters into a stillness, a quiet and reflective presence. He is best at birth when supporting the birthing mother with listening and calm; more archetypically female. Yet how is a man to achieve this, and be truly helpful to his loving partner, without proper preparation? How can he feel safe in this female world? Most fathers are not aware that they are going to have an emotional experience surrounding birth. The intensity of labour can encumber them significantly if they are unprepared, under informed or not feeling safe. The moment of the birth itself, or upon first holding their newborn, can open a floodgate for many fathers. Everyone does better if he has the opportunity to prepare."

With that in mind, the Labour Rehearsal Workshop has been developed to address both the realities of labour and to practise some of the many ways the dad's participation is crucial to its successful outcome. It has been my experience that the most important person to a labouring woman is her partner. If his participation is simply a calm presence, he will have satisfied her most basic needs. And many dads have reported how the experience of the workshop changed their view of labour and enhanced their ability to relax and be the participant they wanted to be for their partner in that experience.