Deciding to give birth in your home can be a liberating choice. You can consciously create an environment and atmosphere to best enhance your experience and welcome your baby.

It is vital to consider all angles of the homebirth debate to make an informed decision that is right for you.

homebirthkits.com offers notes for the mum-to-be and her birth partner.

Eventually we hope to place here stories of women's personal homebirth experiences. If you'd like to encourage other people by sharing your home birth story then please contact us.

We trust you will find this information helpful. It includes the birth story of our founder, Charmaine.

• homebirth pluses
• Charmaine's birth story
• notes for the mum-to-be and her birth partner

Links to other websites...

• Active Birth Centre
  Excellent resource to support the benefits of an active birth
• Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services
  AIMS Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services
• BirthChoiceUK
  Useful statistics on homebirth rates throughout the UK
• Doula UK
  Doulas are women who offer fantastic support throughout your pregnancy, birth and beyond
• Home Birth Reference Site
  The UK reference site on the topic of homebirth, extremely useful resource
• Independent Midwives Association
  The Association of Independent Midwives, the place to find a private midwife to assist with your homebirth
• Joint Statement about Home Births by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists/Royal College of Midwives (pdf, 84KB, from the website of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, reproduced with permission by the Nurses and Midwifery Council [MNC])
• National Childbirth Trust
  The National Childbirth Trusts website allows you to identify local homebirth support groups and antenatal classes
• Home Birth - Sheila Kitzinger
  Sheila Kitzinger campaigns for women to have the information they need to make choices about childbirth. She is a strong believer in the benefits of home birth for women who are not at especially high risk

Other favourite websites include...

• Natural Childbirth UK
  A great resource for women, offering advice, articles and reviews plus a useful directory of practitioners in your area