Homebirth ~ Midwives views
Survey Compiled – December 2007
If you are considering a homebirth or maybe you are simply curious what the opinions of midwives is regarding this matter then we hope this gives you some insight. We asked Midwives from all over the UK a few questions that parents often wonder about…..
If you wish to take part in the Parents on Homebirth section then please email us for a form.
If you are wondering WHY we asked midwives these questions it is because in our experience these are the things that parents wanting to birth at home worry about. A lot of women feel they would like an unassisted homebirth because they feel the MW may interfere too much, well we can see from all …

Hopefully this section will give you some clue as to what all the abbreviations and jargon are on your medical notes… if you can’t find what you want then email us and we will add it!
AF ~artificially feeding
AFP~Alpha-feto-protein – a pregnancy screening test
ANC~ antenatal clinic
APH ~Antepartum haemorrhage – bleeding in pregnancy
ARM~ Artificial rupture of membranes
BF ~breast feeding
BO~ bowels opened
BP ~Blood pressure

HcG levels
How to test for pregnancy.
When a women becomes pregnant  her body starts to produce a hormone called HcG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) this hormone is what is detected in both urine and blood based tests to give a positive pregnancy result. What are HcG Levels ?
HcG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) is a hormone that is produced by the embryo when its starts to implant itself into the uterine lining (implantation) and begins to grow. This occurs approximately 6-10 days after conception. As it grows, the amount of HcG increases and doubles about every three days. The purpose of HcG is to keep the estrogen and progesterone levels at their appropriate levels until the placenta has developed enough to take this function over. HcG levels will reach …