At Home

If you have a straightforward pregnancy and both you and the baby are well, you can choose to give birth at home. In England, around one in every 50 babies is born at home.

If you give birth at home, you'll be supported by a midwife who will be with you while you're in labour. If you need any help or your labour is not progressing as well as it should, your midwife will make arrangements for you to be transferred to hospital. The advantages of giving birth at home include:

• being in familiar surroundings where you may feel more relaxed and able to cope
• you don't have to interrupt your labour to go into hospital
• you will not need to leave your other children, if you have any
• you will not have to be separated from your partner after the birth
• you are more likely to be looked after by a midwife who you have got to know during yourpregnancy

There are some things you should think about if you are considering a home birth:

• you may need to transfer to a hospital if there are complications
• epidurals are not available at home
• your doctor or midwife may recommend that you give birth in hospital; for example if you areexpecting twins or if your baby is breech - your midwife or doctor will explain why they think a hospital birth is safer for you and your baby

Mum Rebecca had two home births. She said: "You have one to one continual care from veryconscientious and caring midwives. There was never any compromise over mine and the baby's safety and we never felt isolated as the home care continued for several days. "When planning the birth of our second child we had no hesitation in wanting to be at home and felt
fortunate that Noah and Bella were born into the environment they will grow up in."