Fenella I have struggled with this concept as well. At the heart of it there is so much talk about drugs/intervention & c/s that I actually began to subliminally doubt my ability to even give birth. I also began to question my desire & wonder if I was being 'silly'.

Needless to say I have come a long way over the past few months. I began to read....EVERYTHING! i also began to concentrate on my intentions rather than doubt my ability. I come from a very large working class family & one thin we all do well is give birth. I look around at my mother, my sisters, my aunties, my cousins & my friends (who have all had natural drug free births) & I ask myself "Are any of them super-hero's? Are any of them amazingly exceptional?" (in the dramatic sense.... every person is exceptional spiritually ) but the answer is "No".

Every time i feel a negative thought pop into my head (as my time draws closer & closer) I take a deep breath & just push it right back out the door. I KNOW I can do this, I have as good a shot at this as any of the millions of women who have been doing this for millions of years & I am not going to let the medical industry, the pharmaceutical industry or anyone else for that matter convince me that I am unable or ill equiped to go through this process.

I also talk to DH (my birthing partner) a lot about this & I am confident that he knows of my wishes & supports me in them 100%.

I understand that some people do not have a choice & I have nothing but love & admiration for them & I also have it firmly in my mind that the most IMPORTANT thing for me is a safe arrival of my baby & my own safety. If there is a genuine complication I will not hesitate to have intervention of any description, based on proffesional advice, in order to maintain our safety.

In discussion with a midwife recently she said something that really stuck in my mind & gave me strength. I explained my desire for a natural birth, she suggested "As soon as you are admitted to hospital & meet your first mid-wife explain to her that you are really wanting to achieve this & ask for her help. We are trained to deliver babies & in a lot of cases we don't really get to do that any more because of all the intervention. This is what midwives are trained for & if you ask for thier help they should be only too suportive in thier effort to make this happen for you"

That is exactly what I will be doing when i am admitted. These are just my thoughts & I hope they help