I was sitting in his lap, and he supported my weight. Mary gave me breathing instructions for each stage of labor and delivery. The pushing phase lasted three hours and was the toughest job I've ever done. Instead of a fetal monitor that hooks into the baby's skull, the midwives used a fetoscope on my abdomen to check for the baby's heartbeat, which never showed distress. A fetal monitor restricts the woman's movement, as the monitor's line hangs out of the vagina and is attached to an apparatus.
Midwives are more low-tech and prefer the less intrusive fetoscope.
They do, however, also bring an oxygen tank with them, along with a scale, measuring devices, and utensils to cut the umbilical chord. Throughout the entire delivery, I drank over four liters of alkaline ionized water, which provided me with electrolytes to keep the muscles functioning. In American hospitals, birthing women are not allowed to drink anything except for ice chips and in, some cases, a soda, rather a nonnutritious and dehydrating abomination. Instead, they are hooked up to IVs to provide fluids, further restricting their movement. During my labor and birthing experience, I was in all positions except prone, and was so always mobile and unrestricted.