Birth partners should be the one whom you can trust and offer you unconditional support before birth, at the time of delivery and after the delivery. While in traditional family units, usually spouses play the role of birth partners or at least are expected to do so, many single moms prefer their mothers to be their birth partners. Some others may find a close relative or friend more reliable. Some single moms who have no one to support, even hire women to be their birth partners but they need to make sure whether they are kind and supportive and can help them out well in times of need. Here are a few tips for choosing birth partners for single moms:

* Always remember that choosing a birth partner is a personal decision and you don't need to give explanations to anybody else.
* Birth partner should respect your decision of being a single mother and not try to influence you with what he or she think might be the right way including giving up the baby for adoption. Giving birth may leave you feeling weak and tired and it is not the time when you have to deal with any unnecessary stress or emotionally draining situations.
* Birth partners should be open-minded enough to respect your wishes regarding labor and delivery so that you don’t have to waste time and energy on trying to convince the person and make her change her mind, which is indeed a difficult task. Whether you want heavy pain medication or prefer home birth, it should be solely your decision.
* Make sure that our birth partner is confident and able to handle emergency situations. He or she should also know how to communicate well with other and should be ready to stick up for you in the hospital and at home, to make sure that your birth plan is followed. People may question their relationship with you and he or she would have to deal with the situation alone.
* Usually single mothers by choice or even chance prepare themselves and draw on their inner strength to go through every trial in their lives. However, childbirth classes, labor and being well enough to be on your own takes much time and your birth partner should have a flexible schedule enough to give you the necessary time. Non-relatives may find it more difficult to convince their offices to allow them to be off work for birth partnering, so you should take this into consideration too before choosing your birth partner.
* Your birth partner should be absolutely trustworthy and reliable and should have control over their tongues too. You should be the one to choose whether you want to discuss the experience and story of your labor with others and you should be sure that your birth partner will not take the full advantage of your needy situation and rob you of your favored possessions.