Charlie's head took a long time to come out. I was feeling OK and not getting tired, but the midwives didn't want me to start tiring out. They suggested getting out of the pool which I was happy to try. They helped me out and on the next contraction the head was almost out. It was out properly at the next contraction, then body the next - within five minutes of getting out of the pool.

It was a 13-hour labour from the start of regular contractions and Charlie was my first baby. He was a little bit floppy and had some oxygen but his heartbeat was going great guns throughout the whole thing, even when he was having some help to breathe.

I was showered, with my hair washed and in my nightie in bed drinking some fruit juice within four hours of the birth. I couldn't help looking at the clock and thinking that if we'd been in hospital, my boyfriend would have been sent home around that time.

I found the people on website Homebirth UK incredibly supportive. I couldn't have been so well-prepared and so calm and in tune with myself throughout the whole thing if it hadn't have been for the information, advice, and support I gained from the site and its email group.

One of the best things about my home birth was having the community midwife that I had seen throughout my pregnancy there throughout my labour and the birth. This was a real comfort to my boyfriend too!

Home birth is not for everyone, whether that be simply because of their personal choice or because medical considerations for mum and/or baby prevent it from being an option. I was lucky to have had a good pregnancy and the backing of my midwife and the hospital consultant to go ahead with the home birth.

One thing I can say from my experience is that I felt like my birth was something that I did and I controlled. I’m not so sure I would have felt the same had I not been at home and therefore feeling more comfortable and at ease. That being said, we were only a five minute ambulance ride to a large regional hospital so I knew that we could get there quickly if we needed to; if I had lived somewhere more rural and isolated I wouldn’t have chosen a home birth."

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Giving birth at home: your stories