I agree with Lee, stay at home as long as possible. With our DS things went horribly pear shaped and I ended up having an emergency CS after 14 hours of labour. We lived an hour from the hospital at the time so went in quite quickly as advised by the midwife over the phone. I was only 2-3 cm dilated then so it took ages to get things going. I only got to 8 cm and then had the CS.

I think if you stay at home as long as possible in a safe and comfortable environment and trust that your body is capable of birthing your baby you'll do just fine. Read as many books on natural birthing techniques as possible, try not to panic, relax as much as you can during early labour (you'll need all your strength later on), don't fight the pain each contraction only lasts a little while and it WILL end, and most of all enjoy the experience. Having a baby is a wonderful, magical and miraculous event in your life, your finest achievement, so overwhelming you'll be forever changed.

Good luck!