WHICH? the consumer guide has launched an on-line guide to help women find out about birth choices locally that fit their preferences and choices. It is easy to use and, as it develops, should prove more and more helpful in informing women about what is on offer. UM played around with it and used the "compare" facility to view the "best fit" facilities. There was a surprising amount of information available, including guidelines and some birth statistics for all the units presented, and it is certainly a welcome and useful tool for gleaning information about which units locally are likely to suit you.
http://www.which.co.uk/birth-choice
It asks some basic questions about your preferences, where you live, age, parity etc and comes up with a list of choices for consideration. Top of my list came "Your Home" and there was plenty of information about homebirth as well as the other units around. All-in-all it presented me with the options I would have wanted and expected it to.
If you have any feedback on the site, you can contact BirthChoice on birthchoice@which.co.uk
