A good friend of mine just had a c-section after 5 vaginal births. She'll definitely tell you YOU DON'T WANT A C-SECTION! (Her water broke at 25 weeks and she had a borderline placenta previa and a breech baby. They held off delivery until 29+5, and mom and baby are doing well now, btw. Baby just came home a couple days ago.) And while labour is painful and challenging, it's short - a day of pain, even if it's a longer labour, if you know what I mean. You don't have nearly the recovery time of a c-section. I was up and about immediately, and felt just about normal within a couple days. Don't second guess your desire for a natural homebirth! It's still hard, but it's the best, and in some ways the easiest way to go.

I never felt any apprehension about labour until baby #6, that I can remember. I always looked forward to it as a challenge, and felt like each time was going to be better. But with #6, I was really looking up against it, and I have the same thing, (but to a lesser degree) this time. Not sure what changed to make me feel this way. I've had easy labours and births, mostly under 3 hr, and never needed any stitching or anything. Short labours are intense though - it is a pretty tough 3 hr, especially at the end! And like I said before, I think it might be because I achieved my goal (home water birth) and now I don't have anything left to improve on, if you know what I mean. I'm considering trying a TENS machine this time around, having heard some good reviews from other mums. The only drawback is I can't use the water then, and I do LOVE the bath in labour! I'll have to talk about it with my midwife and see what she thinks.