I remember when I was first attending births that I was at some labors which were normal but scary for me because of their sheer intensity and the mom's response to the pain. When I talk to women and whomever they plan to have with them, I talk about how labor really makes us confront our responses to pain and that it can be scary sometimes to see how intense labor is.
Labor is a challenge that needs to be respected.
I suppose if you are looking for a quiet lovely birth with a lot of intimacy between you and your partner. But on the other hand, as I said, labor is a process that deserves some respect. You can have a lovely experience climbing a mountain by yourself, too, but you may end up deciding that the trip is a bit more comfortable if you have a guide, especially if you encounter stuff on the mountain that you weren't't quite prepared for. I became a midwife because I saw how midwives could contribute to helping things go right, not because I was afraid of what could go wrong without my presence. I see my role as a midwife as that of a guide and a lifeguard.