There are many reasons that alternative birthing practices are growing.  Among these reasons are the desire to have complete control over the delivery of your child, to be able to make informed decisions and refuse or accept procedures and technology that are standards of care in the industry, but are not designed to treat birthing women as individuals who are educated and responsible.  Another reason that I hear often is that families feel that the birth of their child is a natural and normal event and they are not sick and do not feel that being in a hospital is necessary for this process.  They long for a birth where the baby is treated in a gentle and humane manner and where they have immediate and constant contact with their infant.  They do not want routine procedures performed on their baby or themselves.  They do not want their labors induced for the convenience of their doctor’s or their own schedule.  They do not want to lie in a hospital bed wearing a hospital gown with an IV inserted in their hand and a fetal monitor strapped around their contracting bellies.  They want to be able to eat and drink what they like, to be able to move about their own homes, shower and sit in their own bathrooms.   They want to walk in their own yards or neighborhoods during labor.  They want to celebrate the birth of their baby with family, friends and attendants of their choosing.  They want to really know everyone who is present at this intimate event.   They do not want to worry that no one read their “birth plan” and have to fight for every change of hospital policy while they are giving birth.  They want experienced and well trained birth attendants who can handle complications and variations of normal in their birth with skill and speed.