While you make some really good points, mostly about the midwife part of your rant. You're forgetting that most doctors that deliver babies are called OBSTETRICIANS! Meaning they are SPECIALIZED to deliver babies. Home births may be a wonderful thing, however, things can go wrong in a matter of seconds. Things that only obstetricians are generally trained to handle. Obstetricians can go in and surgically remove the baby within minutes to save the mom and the baby's life, where as that would be difficult to do at home and by a midwife. I live in a small community where, yes, babies are delivered by family MD's, if it is a complication free pregnancy. I may not be a mother, but I know I would definitely prefer to have an obstetrician deliver my baby in a hospital where if things go wrong my baby and myself I know we have a better chance to be saved!

I think you may be a little confused. Most people having a baby in the hospital have a obstetrician, which is a doctor that specializes in delivering babies, so they probably have as much experience as a midwife. No one has the family doctor deliver a baby, as far as I know.

I was delivered by my family doctor.. That is definitely not the norm though.

Also good comments, thank you for your reasonable responses instead of the ridiculous rantings of some uneducated people on this topic. I guess it depends on where you are from. I have given birth in two different countries, and in both of them it was not at all unusual (in fact the norm) for your family physician to deliver the baby. I completely understand a first-time mother being anxious and wanting a hospital birth, because you are dealing with the unknown. I did that myself with my first two - I opted for a midwife assisted birth in the hospital. But once I knew what to expect, and knew what my body was capable of, I had the confidence to do home-birthing. Of course, one wouldn't go into such a decision in blind ignorance (hopefully). It is the parents responsibility to be educated, weigh the pros and cons, and have proper pre-natal care - which in most cases will catch any possible complications ahead of time. Midwives are intelligent and experienced people - if they see anything that indicates a possible problem, they will recommend that you go to a hospital. And, I think that some people are forgetting that hospitals and Doctors are not fool-proof. Tragedies during birthing or shortly after happen in hospitals too - more often than many people realise.

It was obviously noisy because OP could hear it from his level.