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What Experts Say

While your wife may be preparing for labor by doing Kegels and controlled breathing, your preparations for labor are going to be a bit different (though if you're taking a birthing class you'll be learning how to breath too).

Your role during the birth, like during the pregnancy, is to support her. So the best way to prepare is to arm yourself with ways of helping her. Here's how:

Talk about labor before it starts. Make sure to ask her about what she wants you to be doing to support her at each phase of labor. If it is your first child, she may not be sure, but the more you talk beforehand the easier the real thing will be.

Watch birth videos. Especially if you're squeamish, you should watch some births to know what to expect.

Take the tour together. If you are having the baby at a hospital or birthing center, visit it with your partner, and chat up the nurses (you want to be on their good side).

Be prepared to be flexible in the moment. Her needs may not be what she expected. She might swear at you one minute and ask you to hold her weight during a contraction the next. Don't take anything personally or get huffy. Just be there.

Talk to dads who have been through it recently. They'll give you a better feel for the various experiences that can come with labor, so you don't feel like the first person in the world to go through it.

Read all about it. There are lots of dads blogging these days or you can try books slated for new dads like Andrew Cullen's "From Here to Paternity: The Diary of a Pregnant Man" or James di Properzio's "The Baby Bonding Book for Dads."