Table 3.

The role of the relationship with caregivers and fathers

	Roles of caregivers
Inform, reassure, support	« I arrived a little panicked, I started to cry but there was a great team, they reassured me. » (Monica, elective CS)
	« The one I was looking for was the midwife. I was looking for her, she reassured me, she explained me what was happening. Frankly, I would not have experienced the delivery like this without her. » (Tania, instrumental VD)
Non-verbal communication	« They saw toward what we were being directed (CS) faster than me. Seeing their eye contacts was a bit scary. » (Karine, emergency CS)
	Roles of caregivers
Passive support by simple presence	« Whatever it was - the midwife or my partner - to feel supported. » (Lily, instrumental VD)
	« My husband was next to me, I was reassured. » (Anemone, emergency CS)
Active support, coaching	« My husband knows that I cannot breathe with strong inspirations. He told me to imagine that I was running with someone hyper-athletic. » (Natacha, instrumental VD)
	« He (husband) said “it is not a failure, you will not be less compared to others”. » (Charlotte, spontaneous VD with epidural)
Witness of the events to trace the true story thereafter	« Once back home, I could relive those moments that I had not realized, it is mostly him (the dad) who told me everything that had happened. » (Monica, elective CS)
	« I have small flashes of my delivery, but whenever I mention them, my partner explains me that it did not happen like that. » (Laura, instrumental VD)
Tool for women, midwives	« I really leaned on my husband and he counterbalanced. The midwife had shown him how to massage me, but it did not work well enough so I told him “You’re not effective”. At once, the midwife took over. The next day, I made fun of him because when he arrived he said “Ah! I have a sore leg!”. I looked at him and said “No, but wait, this is a joke, you are not the one who delivered”. In fact, I leaned hard on his leg so I think that he must have been hurt, but I told him “Well, I don”t think that it’s appropriate for you to complain”. » (Sophie, spontaneous VD without analgesia)

CS = Caesarean section VD = Vaginal delivery.