freedom to find the right position for her own needs and comfort. Unfortunately, in our society we think of birthing as something done while lying down." Richard Porter Richard Porter MA MSc BM BCh FRCOG is the Director of Maternity Services at the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath, England. He has been the Lead Uro-gynaecologist/Pelvic Floor Surgeon since 2001. He was an adviser on Maternity Services (in the former USSR) to the World Health Organisation, UK Department of International Development, and other NGOs. He was Adviser on Maternity Services to Ministry of Health, Uzbekistan from 1992 to 2003. Royal United Hosptial, Bath is one of the largest District General Hospitals in the UK. The Maternity department is in the top 15 (by size) in the UK. It has one of the best safety records, while also having the highest number of deliveries outside Consultant Obstetric care in the UK (less than 40 per cent). 35 per cent of all deliveries take place in sites other than the main hospital. The catchment population for the Gynaecology department is 450,000.  This generates a considerable workload. Hannah Dahlen Hannah Dahlen is the Associate Professor of Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney. Hannah has published numerous papers in peer reviewed journals and book chapters. She has presented papers at over 100 conferences since 2000. She is currently on the Australian College of Midwives NSW Executive committee and was nominated in 2008 as a life member for outstanding contributions to the profession of