Would you let your father watch you give birth? These women did.

Who would you be comfortable with watching you give birth? The midwife? Of course. Your partner? Certainly.

Many women want their mums there or sisters and some even have friends as support people.

But what about your dad?

It seems a growing number of women are happily turning birth into a family affair by inviting their mothers, father and even their in-laws to watch them give birth.

Long gone are the days of women slugging it out alone with the expectation these days that a woman has whoever she wishes as support people by her side.

But the idea of having a father and father-in-law in the delivery suite still raises eyebrows.

After all it's a soul -bearing experience. There is no room for delicacy or modesty when you are stark naked, sweating and pushing a baby, not to mention all sorts of bodily fluids, out of your vagina.

When I first heard that many women were opting to have their fathers by their sides (or heads, or legs) I was amazed. After having three kids myself I know what birth is like and as much as I love my father I can’t imagine wanting him there at the business end – or him wanting to be there - but it seems like my attitude isn’t that of everyone's.

Essential Baby spoke to a woman named Rebecca whose father Russell was right there when she gave birth to his first grandchild.

"He was very emotionally overwhelmed at the experience” she told Essential Baby.

"He cried quite a lot of tears when he saw me going through my contractions, but he was very supportive, saying: 'You can do this'."

On Reddit another woman said she was happy to have her dad in the delivery room.

“My father was in the room with me with my first. If my father-in-law had wanted to the room for my other two I would have been totally fine with it. It’s not like anything has to be seen. My dad stood in the corner (basically cowering away from my vagina) every time they lifted the blankets, and for the actual delivery."

Meanwhile, one woman told WhatToExpect.com she had her “whole family there”. She explained that her father hid in the bathroom during the pushing bit but that he “came out as soon as baby was out.”

“That way he's included in the whole process, but not standing over for the money shot. I'm so close to my dad, I can't imagine not including him.”

And another: “My dad was in the room when my first was born, he was the one who took the pictures of my son coming out. For the second, they were half way across the country so we Skyped and they watched the delivery that way. “

While one said she couldn’t have done it without her dad.

“At first I told him to stay by my head where my husband was supposed to be (he was deployed at the time) but due to a hard labor he ended up having to hold one of my legs and honestly gave me amazing support.

Mamamia mums share what they weren't told about giving birth. Post continues after video...

While most women agreed that if their fathers were in the room they wanted them to say at the head of the bed, rather than “down there" many said that this request was difficult to implement when the actual time came.

“My dad was in the room for my first and I didn't invite him back for the second and he won't be in there with this one. I thought he could stand behind my shoulder but then they put a huge mirror pointing at my ass so I could see (even though I said no) and so my dad saw the whole show. I know it's natural and he saw me as a child but I just wasn't comfortable with it," said one woman on WhatToExpect.com.

Clinical psychologist Dr Lara Winten told Essential Baby she encourages such decisions.

"Being able to recognise one's own individual needs and accepting that there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to access support during delivery is really healthy psychologically."

But if you are just doing it to please someone or make sure no one feels left out then ditch the guilt.

Birth is about two people – you and your baby everyone else can just step outside and wait in line.