You can have a midwife at the hospital too. Midwives are more hands on. They stay with you for the entire labor/birth process. Afterwards, if you have your baby at home, they clean up the 'mess' and throw the sheets, etc in the washing machine.

There are tons of things you can do to lessen the mess - like use a vinyl table cloth under an old sheet to keep things from mucking stuff up.

Some people feel more comfortable in their own home. And if you don't have any pregnancy complications, there isn't any 'reason' to be in a hospital if you don't want to be.

In the states, insurance doesn't always cover homebirth, so that isn't always an option for some women.

You can search home birth on the internet and find a lot of interesting statistics.

I have an midwife now and I had one with my first son. There is actually 2 midwifes that work together through out your pregnancy. To me they make me feel more comfortbale than a regular doctor would for me. They are so wounderful and helpful. I dont feel like im going to my doctors aapointment. I feels like im just going to go talk to my friend about my pregnancy. Maybe this is different with all midwives but I would recommend this too people.

Yah I could see it being easier talking to someone other than your doctor about that kinda stuff..

I had I midwife for my first 2 didnt see the doc at all he was there if there was a problem this time im having a home birth an I realy recomend them im booked into the closest hospital 5 min away an my midwife has drugs to stop bleading an air an stuff so I feel totaly safe an its natural having a baby is not an operation

In the uk you only get a doctor id there are complications in your pregnancy, you always get a midwife.My midwife lee is crazy!She is so down to earth and I really feel like I could tell her and ask her anything.
However if i'm correct, I dont think she will be the one that delivers my baby.She is part of a team of community midwifes that care for you before and after the birth.There are midwifes at the hospital that deliver your baby, but again a doctor would only get involved if their were problems.

Ever wonder why they call them "midwives" ? I sure do

Oo, oo, had to jump into this good topic. Midwives are awesome! I've always thought of them as the 'birth specialists'; after all, that's completely what their training and experience is about! Compare that to the Dr. Who's dabbled in this and that and has more general knowledge. Midwives are usually more willing to do things 'more naturally', like stretch you instead of an episiotomy.
I've had three and newly pregnant with number 4. I had the same midwife for all, and just booked her in again (so glad she's free next spring!) she's like a close, yet professional friend now. My appointments were 1/2 hour to an hour long and we would chat away about everything that concerned me.
My son ended up being born in the hospital due to birth defects, but my midwife had priviledges there so it was no problem. When my daughters proved completely healthy during the pregnancies, I went for the home birth. I too have felt for a long time that pregnancy and birth is normal and shouldn't be treated like a medical event, and you like a patient.
My homebirths were quick (5 hours, 8 hours) relaxed and I had complete confidence in my midwife. They bring everything needed to deal with emergencies, and these ladies are so skilled that they can tell if anything is not right in time to get you to the hospital. In canada (ontario at least), the criteria for when a midwife needs to pass you off to an ob is pretty stringent. You would not be homebirthing if there was a danger to you or baby.
There is tonnes of info out there on homebirthing, the safety, the advantages. If you're at all interested in what's healthiest and most natural for you and babe, it's worth looking into. I would't do it any other way now!

Oh thats awesome!!! Ya I definatly learned a lot hehe ;)

Midwives are not for everyone....After the experience my friend went through, I chose to go with a doctor that has 10 years of schooling behind them. She is just a hippy nature freak like myself, but her baby died 4 days after birth because she wanted to give birth at home from a midwife with no epidoral. I believe in natural things, but I can't fathom a birth with tremendous pain when we live in a world with plenty of new technology. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I personally would rather have a doctor because it is 2006 afterall.