Midwife‑led units (also called birth centres) tend to be 'home‑like' and relaxed.
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Some women prefer to have their baby in a midwife-led unit. If you have more than one maternity unit locally, you may want to visit it before you make a choice. If you choose to have your baby in hospital, your local hospital is the obvious choice. This may be particularly true if this is your first baby, or if you have had a difficult labour previously. Many women prefer to have their baby in a hospital where there are skilled people and special equipment on hand. Women who are considered to be at low risk of problems, who decide to give birth in a midwife-led unit or at home, are less likely to have interventions (such as an assisted birth or an episiotomy) than those who plan birth in an obstetric unit. If your pregnancy is higher-risk (for example, if you are having twins, have pre-eclampsia or are in labour prematurely) then you will be strongly advised to give birth in an obstetric unit, for your own safety and for your baby's safety. Not all women can give birth where they plan or hope for. If this is your second or third baby and you are considered 'low-risk' then giving birth in a hospital, midwife-led unit or at home should be options for you.If this is your first baby and you are considered low-risk then you should be offered the option of giving birth in a hospital or midwife-led unit.Their advice will depend on whether you and your baby are thought to be at low risk of problems in labour.
![crowning actual childbirth crowning actual childbirth](http://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1369996/crown-throns.jpg)
The choice is one you can make after talking with your midwife and/or doctor. Women can give birth in obstetric units, midwife-led units, or at home. Giving birth in the UK is generally very safe for both you and your baby, wherever you choose to have your baby. We know that changing levels of hormones - particularly of prostaglandins (in the amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby) and oxytocin (produced by you in your pituitary gland just beneath your brain) are involved in the beginning of the process but it's thought that proteins produced by your baby's maturing lungs may be an important part of the trigger to those changes. Surprisingly, we don't really know exactly what triggers normal labour. See the separate leaflet called Premature Labour. Labour which occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy is known as premature (or preterm) labour. Labour is considered 'full-term' if it occurs between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy. Labour can start by itself (spontaneous labour), or it may be artificially triggered by your health carers (induced labour). Going into labour any time between 37 weeks and 42 weeks is considered normal.
![crowning actual childbirth crowning actual childbirth](https://images-pw.pixieset.com/elementfield/3025972/3Z7A2563-4a5921a7.jpg)
It usually takes place sometime around 40 completed weeks after your last period (this is the way pregnancy is measured, but it usually represents 38 actual weeks of pregnancy, as ovulation and fertilisation will have occurred about two weeks after your last period). Labour is exciting and may also seem frightening. The contractions, together with your own pushing, then slowly push the baby down through the neck of your womb, past your hips (pelvis) and out through your vagina. These gradually open (dilate) the neck of the womb (cervix) until it is fully open (fully dilated). It begins with regular, painful muscle tightenings (contractions) in the womb (uterus). Labour is a sequence of events leading up to vaginal delivery of your baby (or babies).