No seriously, it is really not as bad as some people like you to believe. Yes of course, blood is part of labour, but you can keep it all very contained. Besides that, the midwives will help you clear up and take most of 'the mess' with them when they leave. And when the midwife has tucked you up in bed and you are staring at your newborn wondering how on earth you ever created this little miracle, no one could even suspect this little miracle was born not long ago, in your own home!

There are some things you can do to make the clearing up afterwards easier and quicker.

Use bed wetting protection sheets that you can buy in any supermarket. (in the nappies aisle). You can put them under your sheet on your bed in case your waters break, and of course where you are planning to give birth. Alternatively you can use a plastic ground sheet or bin liners that you can lay down under some towels.

Use lots and lots of towels. Put them everywhere! They are easy to wash afterwards and most midwives will put on the washing machine for you before they leave. My experience is that the towels come out the washing machine without any stains on (but make sure the washing machine goes on as soon as.....).

In the home birth box that the midwife will deliver to your house about 3 weeks before your due date, there are protective sheets that can be used to put under you during birth. As they are washable, the midwives will take them away with them.

Should you have a water birth, make sure it comes with a pump to empty out the pool afterwards. You don't want to siphon the water out!

There is of course always a chance some blood will spill on the floor but this is easily removed. read here how to remove blood stains.

Overall, a home birth is not that messy at all. Especially if you prepare yourself a little and make sure you (and your birth partner) know where to find everything. In my opinion, the bleeding after the birth is most likely to make some mess, but then that would be the case no matter where you would have given birth.

how messy is a home birth