Pregnancy & Baby 

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First time around

If it's your first baby and you're toying with the idea of a home birth, Christine Hill advises you to think long and hard

The pluses of having your baby at home are obvious – familiar surroundings, home comforts and a midwife you have met before and feel comfortable with. If this is your second pregnancy and your previous delivery was completely straightforward, things are much more predictable as regards labour and a home birth is well worth considering.

If this is your first baby, I have to add some notes of warning:

Nearly 90% of women have a baby without any help at all from doctors, but when you're having your first, there's no way of knowing if you're going to fall into this group.

By opting for a home birth, you're counting on a totally straightforward delivery. This is the unpredictable bit. A normal, uncomplicated birth is nothing to do with your personal health, level of fitness or how conscientiously you practised your breathing at the antenatal classes. You can’t arrange to have one, however hard you try.

Apart from the shape of a woman’s pelvis, the main factor that influences the length and type of labour a woman has is the position and size of her baby. In order to have a trouble-free birth, a baby needs to be lying with his head down and to one side.

During labour, the uterus contracts in order to dilate the cervix and also to rotate the baby’s head, so he can be born with the back of his head first. This is the smallest diameter of his head and will pass through the pelvis easily.

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