I would never have asked my mother to be there but the MW arrived at about 2.30am (after I finally convinced them that I was actually in real labour) and said that it was pretty much too late to go in to the hospital so it kind of felt right to phone her and see if she wanted to come over!  I think it meant a huge amount to her - and she ended up being there for the birth of my second as well (so did my sister) because DD was in such a hurry.  It was kind of neat to have them there in a way.

You will know once you are in labour what is right for you so you could always leave the decision about who is there until you are actually in labour.  I found that I kind of went in to my own head space so it didn't matter how many people were there or who they were - we just chatted between contractions really.  With DD because there was the potential for it to become an emergency there was suddenly a whole swarm of hospital staff as she came out!  I have no idea how many but they were definitely there!!  I couldn't have cared less - trackpants around my ankles, standing next to the loo - you may find you feel the same.

In any case, a home birth is pretty neat really if it all goes smoothly.  Sounds like you are thinking about all the right things.

I had an unexpected homebirth with my first baby and it was pretty great really.  Having said that, I had a straightforward, eight labour labour.  Because it was unplanned the midwife just turned up and used the resources we had on hand - towels, heater, jugs etc.  Although I wasn't exactly focussed on it, there didn't seem to be much clean up afterwards - although my mother can tell you that it took 14 towels (or thereabouts!) as she is the one who took them home to wash afterwards!

With the second baby I was in hospital (my choice as personally I like knowing that any staff or equipment is just down the hallway if you need it).  Labour was an hour in total and she was born about 6 minutes after getting there so to be honest it really made very little difference where we were because it was so quick.  I'm pretty comfortable in the hospital setting so it has never really bothered me whether I laboured / gave birth at home or in hospital though I was lucky in that neither labour was particularly long.  Both were great experiences.

My advice re a home birth is:

- have a MW you absolutely trust and who you believe will transfer you to hospital at the first signs of any difficulty.

- have lots of towels and at least one room that you can warm to the appropriate temperature!!

- have a support person there for afterwards (unless your MW will do it) - it was great to have mum there to make me scrambled eggs and milo as I was starving after all that hard work.

- read up on accupressure and other options for pain relief - there is a really great book 'Ina May's Guide to Childbirth'.  I found some of the ideas too much for me but there were others which got me through the first time round.  Just a really nice way of thinking that promotes the bodys natural ability to cope with labour.

- line up people to bring food, help with housework etc because it's not the same as being tucked away in a hospital ward somewhere - life just continues and it's much easier if you do have people just turning up with food etc for a wee while.

No worries greeniemum.  Jessica and Emily are just lovely - I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting them and the other members .  All the best for your home birth.

Wellington Home Birth Association have a meeting coming up on 15th July - check out their Facebook page for details.

My second child was born at home. We live 45 minutes from hospital but I felt perfectly safe at home.  It was definitely more relaxing and less stressful than the hospital birth I'd had previously.  And quicker - only 4 hrs of active labour!