4.3.1 One-to-one care
Introduction
Traditionally, women have been attended and supported by other women during labour and
birth. However, with the movement of the majority of births from home to hospital since the
middle of the 20th century, continuous support has become the exception rather than standard
care. Women’s support needs in labour have been shown to have four dimensions: emotional,
information support, physical support and advocacy. Women in the UK today usually labour with
their partners present, providing them with physical and emotional commitment, but for some
women this may be insufficient to provide them with the level and type of support that they need
in the context of a modern institutional birth environment.