You are 30 weeks and 5 days

If you'd like a homelike atmosphere with extra support, consider giving birth in a birthing center.

65 days until your due date

Birthing centers offer a different labor experience from a hospital, with the emphasis on natural birth. They may be attached to a hospital or separate, and some hospitals have one within the maternity unit. Since most women give birth without needing medical intervention, they're a good alternative to a more medical setting.

The atmosphere tends to be more relaxed and flexible, with continuous support from labor nurses and midwives, and your doctor may be affiliated with one. The team is very experienced at births without intervention, all of which increases your chances of a straightforward birth. You need to have had an uncomplicated pregnancy and be unlikely to need specialist care or monitoring. If complications arise, you'd be transferred to the nearest hospital, although this is rare.

Ask a Doctor

I'm having a home birth. Can my children, aged four and six, be there?

Nothing is more wonderful than a birth, and it's natural to want your older children to witness it. But think carefully. Even easy labors are painful, and young children will be upset to see you in pain, and may be daunted to see their sibling emerge from your body, probably covered in various substances.

That said, many children handle it well if they know what to expect. Explain everything: that any cries, shrieks, or swearing help get the baby out, that you may cry or even vomit, that there'll be some blood, and that the baby will be attached to a rather gruesome cord. If they're squeamish, have them stay by your head, or bring them in straight after the birth.

Good to know

Home is where the heart is

Sleeping in your own bed and being cared for by people who love you are reasons enough to choose a home birth. You're likely to feel less inhibited at home, move around more and for longer, be as vocal as you like, use gravity, and try different positions, all of which can make labor shorter and easier. Your midwife will explain what's involved. On the day, be flexible; you may decide to head for the hospital.

Explainer

Planning together

Sit down with your partner, discuss what you'd both like during labor and birth, and start putting your hopes and feelings into a birth plan to discuss with your doctor.

Explainer

Your baby at 30 weeks

Your baby still has slender arms and legs and little fat under the skin. The skin is covered with fine lanugo hair and waxy vernix, and he now has eyebrows and eyelashes, his first mature hairs.

This is general information based on NHS guidance, not medical advice, and every pregnancy is different. Talk to your midwife or GP about anything that worries you. If your baby's movements slow down or change, or you have bleeding, severe pain or leaking fluid, call your maternity unit straight away. In an emergency, call 999.