Why Americans Give Birth in Bed

An OB/GYN explains how new pain drugs caused a shift in childbirth

From a doctor's point of view, having mothers lay down on a bed to give birth makes sense. For many mothers, not so much. Motortion Films/Shutterstock

A few years ago, I visited Dar a Luz, the only free-standing birth center in New Mexico.

It looks nothing like the towering urban hospitals at which I have spent my career. Nestled into a valley on the outskirts of Albuquerque, Dar a Luz is more like an earthy homestead. At the perimeter, a wood fence surrounds a sun-drenched courtyard with a rock garden and a footpath where expecting mothers can pace while in labor.