When deciding where to have your baby, there are lots of things to consider. I’ve compiled a list of pros and cons here so you can decide if a home birth is right for you.

From the moment you start trying to conceive (and, actually for some months before that) you should focus on taking excellent care of your body. You want your tiny tenant to thrive, so you should do everything in your power to get their home to be in the best possible shape for the nine or ten months that they're in there.

Aside from the usual need for hydration, there are a couple of factors that make it even more important during pregnancy. 

Oxytocin is kind of awesome.

I gotta warn you, I'm about to get kind of nerdy in this blog post. I find this stuff fascinating, and I love getting into the nitty-gritty of it all.

If you're not into that, that's alright. I realize this article won't be everyone's cup of tea…

When I decided to switch from a “traditional” hospital birth to a home birth with a midwife, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was eight months pregnant and had about a month to get myself, my husband and my house ready to welcome our first baby in the comfort of our own living room.

Once you've had a baby you enter two stages, simultaneously. The first is the newborn stage. It's beautiful, magical and a bit surreal. The second is postpartum. For me, this was uncomfortable, kinda gross and all too real.

The following is a list of questions I would recommend asking your midwife in your initial interview/consultation. Every mama is going to have different priorities and philosophies, so there’s no specific right or wrong answer to these questions. It all depends on what you are looking for.

When I switched my birth plan from hospital birth to home birth, I did so with the intention of taking back control of my pregnancy and delivery.

I was exactly 8 months pregnant when I decided to switch from a "traditional" hospital birth to a home birth.