Our midwife had to lie on the floor on her back to examine my wife and to catch our daughter. Most doctors would have found this position beneath their level of professionalism. Most midwives believe the use of drugs during labor to be unwise. This feeling goes to the heart of the issue of natural childbirth. I see child birthing as a natural physiological condition not requiring medical intervention.
Drugs affect a woman's natural ability to deliver safely.
Safety at a home birth depends on encouraging the mother's natural process. I believe a woman should choose whatever style of care she is most comfortable with, including pain management. However, I recognize pain as my body's way of telling me something is wrong, like a broken leg. I believe this approach to pain is more easily achieved at home. At home, the woman giving birth is in charge and everyone present is her guest.