Wulfgar:
In my case, without me and MIL in the delivery room, it would have been a lot harder for MW to deliver since she had one leg on my chest and one on MIL's chest with us holding her legs up to make it easier for her to deliver. Not all hospitals do this but they asked if we wanted to help.
I was there the entire time and saw everything including my son sliding out and having the doctors have to catch him before he hit the ground, and yes he did come out that quickly, no delivering the head then shoulder etc.
Funny! That is exactly how my son flew out of my wife. He actually caught air...I saw it!!! From the time my wife was allowed to start pushing, until he did his BMX impression upon entering this world, it took all of 25 minutes!!
I will admit, I was nervous going in. My wife was not as nervous, but she insisted that I stay by her shoulder during actual delivery. She did not want me to see the "situation" down there and have a lasting image of it, so to speak. We were in the hospital for five overnights because she was induced, so we were beyond tired and anxious by the time it really got going on the 2nd night of being induced (NOT FUN AT ALL FOR MY POOR WIFE....I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT SHE WENT THROUGH). So by that time, I was totally involved in the entire process. All through labor I was focused on doing whatever was needed to give her relief. Once delivery started, everything we had talked about was out the window. As I worked between getting my wife ice chips and monitoring all the monitors, the whole "stay behind me" idea was long gone. Once the pushing started, I had one leg in my arm, one hand stroking my wife's hair as she was vomiting, and I believe my third arm was getting ice chips to the wife. Yes, I had three arms, I am certain of it!! I saw the boys head as it was crowned, and I saw the path of destruction that was left behind after the birth.
My point is that even as we had discussed that I would not see any of that "stuff", by the time it was game time, my wife and I were the team we always have been, and I was right in the mix, so to speak. And looking back I would not have wanted it any other way. I was squimish before, as we discussed the topic multiple times during the pregnancy, but once the horn blew, it became pretty primal, and I did everything I could do to get our son out safely. Labor and Delivery are not fun, and when a woman is being induced, it really puts a lot of stress on mommy and baby. At one point my wife was taking oxygen because the boy was working too hard and was getting too stressed out. Plans change in that room, and a husband is going to adapt real, real quick!
Once the two of you are in that room, and he sees you start to really go through this, I think he will begin to feel his instincts overpower him as it becomes more primal with every minute passing. I am more grossed by my sons diaper bombs than I was by the blood and fluids of that day in August.
It really is a primal, pre-progammed thing. I never would have believed it so until I went through it myself. My instinct took over that day, and it drove me to care for my family in those first weeks.