‘My 10-year-old daughter cut her baby brother’s cord’
Midwife Carrie Mcintosh, 45, from Edinburgh – who’s married to Gary, 55 – decided to have her daughter Katie, now 19, at her son Arran’s birth, and says it’s given them an amazing bond.
She explains: “Giving birth is a natural event and nothing to be frightened of. I applaud Jools’ decision to have her daughters with her. It’s important to open up this topic for debate; it can be a positive experience for mothers and their children.
“When I fell pregnant with my third child Arran, now nine, I asked my daughter Katie and other son Finlay, now 17, if they wanted to be at the birth. I’d had easy births with both of them so I wasn’t concerned that anything would go wrong. Finlay wasn’t keen, as he’s quite squeamish, but Katie was excited and wanted to be involved.
“We watched birthing videos so she knew what to expect and we talked to some of my midwife friends. I told her that if she changed her mind at any time she could leave – there was no pressure on her at all.
“We had a birthing pool in the house and two of my friends who are midwives were there, plus Gary. When the contractions started Katie brought me drinks and mopped my brow. I’d explained I might make some strange noises during labour so she wasn’t alarmed. Katie was at the end of the pool ready to spot the baby’s head and was fascinated. My labour was five hours and when Arran arrived, Katie jumped into the birthing pool to help cut the cord. It was very emotional and created an amazing bond between Katie and Arran.
“Over the years I’ve seen lots of people have other children present during labour. The majority of the experiences have been positive; I’ve seen a 22-month-old who was rubbing her mum’s back and soothing her. There have been times when children get restless when a labour goes on for a long time – being present during a labour isn’t right for every child, but it can be an amazing experience.”