No one chooses home birth lightly. It's a decision that's usually made after much research, soul searching, serious consideration of the alternatives, and, often, pressure from relatives to go the hospital route.

Anastasia Yuen of Alberta, Canada, didn't have to deal with that latter concern, as she and her sisters were all born at home. "I read my parents' books about birth when growing up, so it was a natural consideration for me," Yuen says. Both of her children were born at home.

There's no way to know if giving birth at home is a growing movement, because, as Dr. Mayer Eisenstein from Chicago. Ill., says, there's no official tracking of that type of data. However, the trend away from labor rooms and toward birthing rooms, and the proliferation of natural childbirth classes, doulas and other birth assistance ideas, all point to the fact that women are seeking births that seem less like being hospitalized.

And, in spite of the fact that hospitals are working harder to make the birth experience more home-like and comfortable, some women want to take that a step further and make it more home-like by actually staying home.

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