Children present during birth
July 27th, 2010 | 
Author: I wrote an article for Parent 24 this week on my daughter being present at her brother’s birth. I know it is a very personal choice that each family has to make for themselves but for us it worked and it was wonderful to share the time with her. There are some tips for those thinking about including a child in the birth process
http://www.parent24.com/Baby/birth/My-daughter-was-at-her-brothers-birth-20100727
Did your children witness a sibling birth?
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No Rafe went to visit by my brother and sil during the birth (they coincidentally came for coffee 2 hours before Kara was born so timing was perfect Ü)
I specifically did not want him there as I did not want to have to think about anyone or anything in those hours i would be in labour (I was planning on lots of selfish “it is all about me labouring”).
As it turns out the birth went so fast and easy he had hardly settled there and we called to say he could come home so he did not even have to sleep out. He was away for about 3 hours.
I considered it, but decided against it in the end, knowing my kids’ personalities. I figured they’d be all for it until it actually happened & then they’d get seriously freaked out. (I fainted once while pregnant & my then 6 year-old daughter thought I’d died, poor kid!)
They were at home while I gave birth to our latest, though, which was a home birth. But I laboured and birthed in my bedroom, quietly, and they were downstairs watching movies and stuff. We let them come in and meet their new brother a couple of minutes after he was born and most of the blood and gore had been removed.
My son witnessed both his siblings be born, and his sister was woken to meet her baby brother seconds after the birth. He was 2y9m for the first birth, and 5y9m for the second, was there from about 10 mins before the end in each case, and it was perfect. In both cases it was coincidence that he woke.