I'd like to see what this study is based on, because I simply don't believe it. I have lived abroad before, and I've never seen women get better care than they get in the US. Just recently I had a friend tell me that she wanted to have a baby in the US instead of her home country because she appreciates that women here have the option of having an epidural if they want one. People who have never lived outside the US before take options such as that for granted. And what about people who have difficulty getting pregnant? In some states fertitlity treatments are covered by insurance. In some other developed countries (I believe Italy might be one), IVF and other fertility options are not even legal, to say nothing of being medically covered. I for one am so thankful for the choices and care I receive here in the US.

It's astonishing how little decision-making power US women have in the actual birth process. Technology and interventions have their respective roles during birth, but have rapidly become the modus operandi to accommodate health care providers rather than the woman.

As a 23 year old, I don't foresee myself having children for quite some time. However, I found it extremely empowering to educate myself on birth and how other countries manage maternity care. After taking a course on birth practices with doctors and nurses from SE Asia and Australia and also spending some time in maternity wards in Tanzania, I saw how varied birth can be. When speaking to these women, I found that having a "good" experience wasn't about the pain factor, rather it was how they were treated from the time they entered to the time they left the hospital. Did they allow a birth companion? Were they able to move around and give birth in other positions? Was the environment conducive to birth? Bottom line - did they feel part of the process? The answers spanned the spectrum, but the most positive responses came from women who had a birth companion and a provider who acknowledged the importance of a natural progression in birth.

I also took the time to read Ina May Gaskin's newest book, "Birth Matters" which touches upon the study mentioned in this article and others that point to the hyper-medicalization of birth. Watching the documentary "The Business of Being Born" (Trailer: ) also made me realize that we as a country have compartmentalized yet another aspect of the human element for profit's gain.

My hope is that when I do decide to have kids, I'll be able to find a space (hospital, birth center, etc) that understands birth experience and a mother's role at the CENTER of it.