Your clothes, your bed, your family, your birth. So you want to have your baby at home. But how do you do it? What will you need? How will you know what to do? The questions may seem endless, but these six steps can guide you toward the home birth of your dreams.

Most women think the first step to planning a home birth is finding a competent midwife. But before you make those phone calls, you might want to be certain that you and your husband -- or birth partner -- agree. "First, I gathered sufficient information to convince my husband that we should explore having a home birth," says Karen Kohls, a certified doula and mother of two children born at home, in Madison, Wis.

Fortunately, the Internet has made this task much easier than it was 10 years ago. You can find information about home birth, including safety statistics, through simple Internet searches. There are also several books on the subject that you and your husband might find helpful – Homebirth (Dk Pub, 1991) by Sheila Kitzinger is often suggested.

Once your husband agrees that home is the best place to have your baby, it's time to find a midwife.

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