why do women give birth on their backs?

This is an interesting article exploring why 85% of UK and 90% of American women

(no stat on Canadian women although I'm guessing it would be inline with these figures) are still giving birth on their backs! It's true though, when you think of a woman giving birth most of us envision a women laying on her back in a hospital bed.
Anything and everything else is considered  'alternative'...

I have to admit, I was one of them- during my pregnancy with Oliver I knew I wanted a natural birth (because the thought of a samurai sword of a needle inserted into my spine was far more terrifying than pushing a baby out of my vagina), I gave some thought to different positions to labour in but not really about what position I would birth in and for the majority of my pregnancy I felt that hospital would be safer and I would feel more confident and comfortable there. Then my midwife asked me a simple question WHY, why did I feel this way? and I couldn't answer it, not very coherently anyway. And so I went home and thought about it. The answer was because I didn't know birth any other way. My mom gave birth to me in a hospital and her mother gave birth to her there too presumably both on their back. While I didn't have a fear of birth or of having a terrible, painful experience but when I thought about birth I pictured a woman in the hospital on a bed. That was just what you do, part of our culture. 

It wasn't until after that conversation that I really explored the option of home birth, watched births online, movies etc and created a new vision of what birth could be like and that I could really open myself up to it. And then came time to pre-admit at the hospital. Ugghh, from the second I stepped foot in the door the misery at the front desk taking my information managed to put me in my place. Rained on my I'm a soon to be first time mama  parade and treated me like I was a waste of time, an annoyance and so my conviction of a hospital birth as the place I would feel more comfortable and confident birthing at quickly changed. 

While home birth may never be the right choice for some and vice versa for hospital, let's get back to birth positions and changing our cultural norms of the vision of what birth looks like. Having done it both ways, I would always opt  and encourage other woman to go for upright! Let gravity work for you instead of fighting against it, yes my pushing stage was likely to be shorter regardless of position for my second and third child but coming in at about 7 and 5 minutes compared to 1.5 hours the first time is saying something!

It's reasons like this that I share my birth stories, not for accolades or praise or to one up anyone. But to help change the vision of birth for anyone that might be interested. To let woman know that if birthing on your back in a hospital isn't right for you, it doesn't have to be.

and so I'll end with a link to this birthphotography site,
with the most beautiful photos of all different types of births.
The new vision of what birth is or can be.