Most babies in the UK are born in hospital, but some are born at home or in a midwife-led birth centre. Your midwife will know what’s available in your area.
Giving birth is generally safe wherever you choose to have your baby. It's your choice, and you can change your mind if you want to.
Your midwife will discuss the local options available to you, although you're free to choose any maternity services if you're prepared to travel to them. You can also get more information from:
- children's centres,
- your GP surgery,
- local maternity units,
- the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), which can put you in touch with local mothers (see Useful links), or
- a supervisor of midwives (contact a maternity unit and ask to speak to the supervisor of midwives).
Wherever you choose to give birth, you'll be able to write your own birth plan, which includes all your preferred choices for the labour and birth.
Hospital birth
Many women choose hospital births because they feel reassured that medical help is close by. You'll be cared for by midwives, and doctors will be available if you need them.
If you give birth in hospital, you can still make choices about the kind of birth you’d like, such as an active birth (where you move around as much as possible), or a water birth if there's a pool available.
You can also decide whether you want natural pain relief, such as a water birth or TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), or whether you'd prefer painkillers, such as pethidine, diamorphine or an epidural (see The pregnancy care planner: pain relief, in Useful links).
Home birth
Some women prefer to have their baby at home in familiar surroundings. Planned home births are safe for healthy women with healthy pregnancies.
If you think you might prefer a home birth, talk to your midwife early in your pregnancy. She’ll assess you and help you to decide whether a home birth is right for you. If you decide on a home birth, your antenatal care will be provided by a community midwives' team, which will also be with you during the birth.
Your midwife will bring a home-birth pack before the baby’s due date. If you want a water birth, you can hire or buy a birthing pool to have at home.
"I had my second baby at home," says Jennifer, mum to 18-month-old Milligan. "I liked being able to move around the house, rather than being confined to one place." She used an inflatable birthing ball and a birthing pool in her dining room. "When the midwife examined me, I was 4.5cm dilated. When I sat into the water, the contractions quickened immediately, and 30 minutes later, Milligan was born."
If you need any medical help during labour, or your labour isn't progressing as well as it should, your midwife will arrange for you to be transferred to hospital.
To find out more about home births and what facilities are available in your area, see The pregnancy care planner: choosing where to give birth, in Useful links.
A midwife-led birth centre
Midwife-led centres can feel cosier and more relaxed than a hospital. It's like giving birth at home but with plenty of support around you.
With home births and midwife-centre births, you may have to be transferred to the nearest hospital if there’s an unexpected problem. Some midwife-led centres are either attached to hospitals or very close to them.
They’re a good choice if you want a relaxed atmosphere for the birth, with low-tech methods of pain relief (the choice of pain relief might be more limited than at a hospital. For example, you can't have an epidural in a unit that's separate from a hospital). Most midwife-led units have facilities to help with natural birth, including birthing pools, birthing balls and birthing stools.
"I was 5cm dilated when we arrived at the birth centre," says Nina, mum to 12-month-old Oliver. "I got straight in the birthing pool. The water was relaxing and helped the pain, and my husband Ian massaged my back. Partners are allowed in the water, but Ian didn’t want to go in. My mum was there, too.
“The centre’s very relaxed, and your family is welcome there, whereas hospitals usually allow only one person to be with you. Oliver was out in two pushes! The staff were fantastic, and it was a very comfortable atmosphere."
Pain relief
Where you give birth can affect the pain relief options available to you. For example, you can't have an epidural at a home birth. For more information on pain relief, see Pain relief in Useful links.
See Questions to ask your midwife in Useful links for a list of questions to ask your midwife or maternity unit. This can help you decide where to give birth. This page also has information on preparing for the birth that you choose.
Watch the video
A midwife explains the alternative options for women who don't want to give birth in hospital, and one mother describes her experience of giving birth at home.
