Having your baby during the COVID-19 pandemic is an anxious and stressful prospect. Some of the options you have been considering might not be available any longer, you may have concerns about the hygiene of the environment you give birth in or your birth plan may just not be what you had envisioned. Our advice is to develop a flexible mentality. Remember that, though it was not what you imagined, your maternity team will still involve you in any decisions that need to be made in the run up to your labour to ensure you are as safe and comfortable as possible. You may be concerned about the risk of contracting coronavirus while you are in hospital, owing to the large number of COVID-19 patients; but hospitals and their medical teams have stringent protocols and procedures in place to ensure people with COVID-19 are quarantined in separate parts of the hospital to non-COVID-19 patients. For this reason, experts say that you should not feel concerned about giving birth in hospital. Even so, you should still take extra precautionary measures to keep yourself safe when you are inside a hospital, such as: Wearing a face mask Keeping a 2-metre distance between you and anyone you do not need to come in closer contact with (such as your midwife/nurse) Wash/sanitise your hands regularly (Generally good practice to avoid viruses, bad bacteria and disease spread) Wipe down surfaces you will regularly encounter such as doorhandles in your delivery room, bed railings etc Though there is increased pressure on the NHS, these services are doing everything they can to ensure that birth procedures are conducted safely and with sufficient staff. Some Trusts and Boards in some regions of the UK have closed their home-birth services and some mid-wife led units, making home births and hospital-alternative births more difficult. This is because experts say that having your baby in a medical setting is currently the safest way to give birth for all parties involved (you, your birthing partner, if you have one, and your maternity team). If you have your heart set on a home birth, this may still be an option provided you have not tested positive for coronavirus or have symptoms. Discuss your options with your midwifery team.