Ashlee, I think as long as you're educated about the options available to you (pain relief, birthing positions etc) then you're going into this with your head on your shoulders.

I found that writing a birth plan for ME helped me to mentally prepare. It helped me work out what I did, and didn't want. Does this make sense? In the end I never showed it to the hospital, but made sure John knew what I wanted in case I was unable to verbalise it for myself. I had what I believed to be a really positive birth experience and like many of the other girls, it went nearly textbook to what I'd dreamed of. I had prepared myself however, for the event that it didn't.