According to new research more women are having babies at home, despite the shortage of midwives.

As the Government has promised that by the end of next year all women will be able to choose where and how they give birth, will you be considering a home birth?

Apparently you are inspired by celebrities mums, and more women are giving birth at home, being surgery, drug and hospital free. As more pregnant embrace the pain and turn their noses up at c-sections, certain parts of the country are teaching new mums-to-be that pain is part of the natural process and medical intervention is not needed in the majority of cases.

I am sure that many midwives will be rushed off their feet, more than they already are, with a rush of interest from new mums, especially after seeing a new film coming out called the "The Business of Being Born".

Apparently the belief is that it is safer in hospital than at home, but research being carried out and due out in 2009, by the Oxford University's National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, will provide a better insight.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists supports home births for women who are low-risk. But it urges women to consider what will happen if something goes wrong: around one in three women attempting to give birth at home end up in hospital.

You can read the full article in the Independent by Susie Mesure made for interesting reading