Letters to the Editor
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childbirth in other places
I live in Scandinavia, where it is true that most births are in hospitals, but they are mostly more like your 'natural births', as they are generally supervised by midwifes, no drugs, and with the doctors only on call. Often the births happen in 'clinics' a special part of the hospital, with baths and space for the rest of the family.
In Holland, most births are at home, with midwifes only.
People from the UK, US and southern Europe generally find this all very uncomfortable. So I'd say, each to her own taste. One shouldn't force anyone to give birth in a way that scares them. But I do think it's kind of sad that we are having more c-sections because of the influence from other countries. And I know of at least two cases where doctors bungled up and the baby died - maybe because many doctors don't have enough experience here.
What on earth is a doula?
I have two girls, both born naturally in the hospital. The first was in a breach position, and they asked if I would give it a try for research, since they'd like to monitor the procedure. As far as I remember, both to see if more women should give birth naturally, even when the child is in a difficult presentation, and to prepare for emergencies, where surgery can't be done.
That meant that 7 people were in the room, including a surgeon, a pediatrician and an obstetrician, but the whole procedure was completely led by the midwife.
The worst part about it was that I had to stay lying on my back to facilitate the research thing.
I agree that the US statistics are probably not easily compared to ours. The whole welfare state system means even our slums are more like normal suburbs in the US, and everyone has access to the best hospitals. Also, we don't have teen pregnancies, and not least: ALL pregnant women are closely monitored.