Very squeamish partner want to attend birth. Your experience and advise please!

[OneMoreOfUs]

Hi, just looking for some storys really of how things can turn out. He cant stand the sight of blood and anything surgery related but wants to be there. There is no pressure from me and I don't mind if he leaves at any time but still though..
Should we let the midwife know in advance as to avoid invitations to see the "action" down there and to cut the cord for example?
Or just see how it goes, what do you think?

My brother was like this and when he and his wife announced they were having a baby we all thought (after being delighted for them first) - who is going to be SIL's birthing partner as it obviously wasn't going to be DB.

When she went into labour he told the midwife he would stay as long as he could be he would at some point leave and come back once his baby had been born. The moment to leave never came, he couldn't leave her, he said it was the most magical time and he wouldn't have missed it for the world. I was so proud of him - this is the DB that insisted on having his teeth out in hospital and then had a panic attack in the hospital reception before going up to the ward.

I tend to faint and/or feel nauseous at the sight of blood. I probably am a little squeamish too, although it's not constant (one thing can set me off one day, the next day it has no effect).

I would not of missed the birth of my DS for anything. I was also present for all of the IVF procedures.

The technique I tend to use is if I start feeling a little off, I first try to focus on something else in the room (say a blood pressure monitor) and measure my breathing a bit.

If that still doesn't work, I'll visualise that I'm sitting on a tropical beach somewhere in the sun.

If that fails, I'm out of the room (but so far it hasn't).

One I start to feel better I can get back to paying attention to the real world.

Of course different techniques work for different people, YMMV. The desert island technique is one I used to use at school when we were doing distance running in PE. I couldn't avoid doing it, but my mind I could. The only downside is that I have driven to work on "auto-pilot"