lambsbottomo
You do realize that in virtually every developed nation, with exception to the United States, midwives handle all births and OBs are only brought in when there is an emergency...dont you? I have studied how OBs handle the birthing process and it is appauling. There have been numerous studies performed which show that women are much less likely to need advanced medical intervention under a midwife's care.
You are so right. The United States ranking in this regard has long been a concern but very little is changing.
As a matter of fact in some rankings, the U.S. has dropped still further in recent years.
There was some wisdom in what DataDog posted above. The simple act of a woman being able to walk around, kneel,squat - whatever position of comfort she chooses is a time honored way of not only coping with the pain of childbirth but also of accelerating the birthing process.
Confining a woman to bed, strapping her with a monitor and expecting her to labor on her back is physiologically not the best. It is also not done for the mothers sake nor the babies.
It has become the current standard of care however.