Most women choose to give birth in one of the country’s maternity hospitals, although home births are becoming more common. If you wish to opt for a home birth, you will need to contact your local Health Service Executive Office (see www.hse.ie) and request a list of doctors or midwives. They will help you to arrange it and can advise you further. Another option is to engage a midwife privately – a list of independent practitioners can be obtained from the Homebirth Association of Ireland (www.homebirth.ie). Before you go down this road however, it is a good idea to speak to your GP about the probability of complications, because home births are not recommended for all pregnancies.