Giving birth, especially if you haven't done it before, can be scary and stressful but one way to help you relax can be found on your iPod or CD rack.
Even if you're planning on giving birth at home, music can help relax you and cope better with the pain in the early stages of labour.
Having your favourite music on in the background can also help provide a welcome distraction from the rollercoaster that is the first stage.It's here that I admit I was never organised enough to remember my to put my favourite CDs in my hospital bag, not even the relaxing hypnotherapy birth music.
If you have been using a hypnotherapy CD, it's thought hearing the music during your labour triggers all the relaxation techniques you've previously mastered. Instead, for the last two births, we had the radio quietly playing in the background just like it does at home and this seemed to be enough of a help for me.
But even if the birth doesn't go as you planned, it can still help to have some control over your surroundings, and selecting the music is a way to achieve this.
Ending up in the operating theatre for a caesarean need not mean you have to listen to the hospital staffs' banter, as you can ask for your music to be played.
I did a quick straw poll on Twitter and discovered @swingsandpretty did have music during her child's birth, only it wasn't her choice. The surgeon chose not opera, or classical but S Club 7's Reach for the Stars, which has a lovely sentiment.
Shania Twain was the choice of @RosieScribble because she was a particular favourite at the time, but listening to that track now makes her emotional.
And that's another plus in favour of music in the delivery room – it creates wonderful memories at a time when you mostly remember pain and indignities. Until you meet your baby, of course.
I did once read of one couple who were organised enough to have "Perfect Day" playing when their baby made his grand entrance. That even brought a tear to my eye, and I didn't know the couple.
Did you have any music playing while you were in labour? Or are you busy compiling a playlist for your upcoming big day? Let us know about it.