Yep, I can sympathize with your fear, for sure! I would hate to have my DH away during birth! But just to encourage you, you WILL be able to do it either way. You'll be OK, hun! And I'll bet your DH will feel worse than you if he misses his baby's birth. And, if he is taking a month off, right around the due date, your chances are REALLY good that he will be there, and be able to spend some time with you and your new little person. As the PP mentioned - look into some natural labour "stimulants" to try from a few weeks before your due date. There is an article on that somewhere on this site - I'm sure you'll find it, or else some wonderful mod will post you a link. All the best!