First, we need to differentiate between a natural birth and a home birth. Women can have a natural birth in the hospital, but this is very difficult due to harsh lightning, nurse shift changes, IV poles, and cervical checks. all of the above are not conducive for progressing natural labor. Hospitals need to make money. They want fast patient turnaround time, so if you are not laboring fast enough they will start Pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) to speed things up. From there things snowball for the worse as the drug causes more painful contractions and the woman now begs for an epidural. The intense uterine muscular contractions often cause "fetal distress," as the baby gets squeezed harder and longer. Hospitals can bill more for every intervention they provide (think how much an ICU baby costs).

In the USA businesses, it is the norm to see an obstetrician, and very few women see a midwife. In the UK and Europe, this trend is reversed. "According to new research from the World Health Organization (WHO), caesarean section use continues to rise globally, now accounting for more than 1 in 5 (21%) of all childbirths". Obstetricians are trained primarily as surgeons who are more than happy to provide this service. U.S. hospitals take advantage of women in vulnerable situations.

I am 26 weeks pregnant with my first child. I have chosen to see a midwife since the beginning of my pregnancy. I did not know at first if I wished for a homebirth. After reading "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" -- I decided to pursue a homebirth.

If something were to go wrong, I am confident my trained and highly experienced midwife will assist with a hospital transfer. In that scenario, I am aware that a natural birth will not be possible.

My wife gave birth to 3 children, all natural births, no c-section, no epidural, but all happened in hospitals. All she used was the laughing gas during labor. She told me later that the gas didn't really do anything to help the pain, but breathing the gas helped her focus on her breathing between contractions. She took the pain like a champion through all 3 births.

Yes, there are stories of women having a very short labor and giving birth very smoothly / quickly, but I think those are the exceptions, not the norm. Labor is typically long, especially the first child. Our first child took about 10-11 hours, from the moment she noticed frequent contractions to the time of birth. That is not to say you can't be the exception, but just be prepared and manage your expectations. Being in good physical shape helps a lot, as it does take a lot of effort and energy; it is called labor for a reason.

I'm not sure how it is in US hospitals, but here in BC, Canada, the hospitals encourage and promote natural birth. I think they will give mothers epidural if requested, but mothers have to request it.

Personally, I think the benefit of giving birth in a hospital is that there are medical professionals in case of any "oh shit" moments, such as baby's position not coming out right, umbilical cord catching baby's neck, mother having excessive bleeding, or whatever reason that require immediate medical attention. Child birth sometimes do have complications and there are definitely risks. That said, life is about trade-offs, and each person make their own trade-offs according to their own preferences. I can totally see the advantage of giving birth in the comfort of one's own home; the feeling of familiarity and support probably can never be matched by hospital births. In our case, my wife and I took the trade-off of giving birth in a hospital, because we wanted immediate access to medical professionals in case if something went wrong. Luckily, all 3 births went smoothly, and all kids came into this world healthy and loud.

The best is a natural birth at the hospital.

I have several kids. My wife gave pretty natural births (no c-sections, no special procedures), but at the hospital. People do not realize that if everything goes well, the hospital staff does not get involved that much.

But in case something goes wrong, you have all the tech, staff on call, etc. to save you and the life of your child.

During the second birth, our baby got stuck a bit and the midwife had position my wife in a way to allow the baby to get out. I can’t imagine dealing with this at home alone.

Sure you can have a midwife at home, but why risk it?

My wife wanted to have a natural birth. But when her labour pains started, it took what felt like eternity for her dilation to move to just one cm. She was in so much pain that she said screw it and asked to be admitted one day earlier so that she could benefit from the epidural. She was apologetic about admitting herself into the hospital one day earlier than planned because that meant another day of hospitalisation expenses. Anyway, she was in so much pain that I think a natural birth was out of the question for her

One of my cousins haa two kids. Both her babies came out normally within 10 20 minutes in labour even after the doctor's suggested otherwise.

I think this recent surge in C-Section might kill the ability in women of delivering babies normally overtime. Also listened that many women deliberately have c-section. Don't understand the reasoning behind this.

Giving natural birth is still a cultural norm in parts of India. I still see many babies are delivered at homes by midwives with the help of other women here. But I don't like at home delivery because I lost one of my aunts after the delivery at home. I think she might be alive if in a hospital.

I intuitively agree with you, feels more natural and powerful etc. And humans have done it forever so how bad can it be?

This, though, terrifies me: (Since child mortality -- and women dying in childbirth -- are almost entirely a story of giving births clinically and at hospitals instead of at home)

I think we have figured out how to use tools and medicine for good reasons and there is nothing wrong with that. I also think we get in our own way and fall into routines that become norms and then requirments and that then becomes problematic.

It is important to remember that we are (or should) all be free to choose whatever path through life is right for us.

I'll recommend Emily Oster's book Expecting Better as a resource to look at. She does a fairly rigorous comparison of different birth options. That won't give you much information on the experiential side, although she does describe her own experience.

We have had three babies naturally with no pain management. Aimed for all to be water births but the first took to long and she had to get out of bath but other two were water births

To each their own and I respect everyone’s opinion, but I definitely trust modern medicine for the most part, like if there’s a complication.

"The human brain has rendered the organism’s most basic task, reproduction, a treacherous affair. That same brain made things like labor and delivery units, cardiotocometers, epidurals, and emergency C-sections both possible and necessary." from When Breath becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi Not an answer to your question but just a passage that I thought was brilliant and stuck with me for many years.

I'm no expert, but I don't think that every women's hips are of the same - needed - "size", which could mean death for both the mother / child.

Moreover, not every baby is delivered "working" off the shelves, such that immediate help can be needed.

That being said: I'm with you on the experience-part.

Caesarean section is a total fiat thing, and should be used only in extreme cases.

Home births are somewhat common in Finland as far as I know.

Most c-sections are fine, but a friends wife was accidentally scarred on her intestines and has had to watch what she eats since then. Broccoli is especially painful for her.

I trust modern medicines much more than anything! And it's kinda risky (natural birth). You know what? In ancient times most deaths weren't caused by wars, diseases etc. Instead it was mostly women who died by giving birth! (You can do a little bit of research that how modern medicines helped reduce this number).

I respect everyones opinion though!

The Business of Being Born (2008) is a pretty good documentary about hospitals vs natural nativity. watch for free here: https://m.vk.com/video-9148368_165258427

Rregarding the pain & suffering, here is another documentary exploring the opposite perspective: Orgasmic Birth (2008). watch for free here: https://vk.com/video166984977_170299562

Natural birth in a hospital for us!

I believe at home natural births are the best way.

Natural birth is preferable, IF the woman can physically handle it, which is getting rarer in these modern times. The baby coming in contact with the mother's vaginal fluids is important for seeding its gut bacteria, and help it develop its immune system.

Do you have a midwife and/or doula?