Hire a midwife. A main factor in having a low-intervention or natural birth is midwifery care. Birth statistics from around the world show that women who use midwives have the best outcomes in birth. In countries with socialized healthcare, midwifery care is standard and physicians become part of the birth plan only when the need arises.

Physicians specialize in medical technology, including medication and surgery. The medical model does not train doctors to support birth as a natural process; instead, labor and birth are "managed" through the use of interventions.

Women who want to have as few interventions as possible will have more success by hiring a midwife. If, during pregnancy or labor, a situation arises that calls for a physician, the midwife will consult with a doctor and/or refer the patient.

Question pitocin use. Pitocin is a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin, which our bodies produce to cause contractions. Currently, the rate of pitocin use is around 40 percent.

Pitocin increases the strength of contractions and makes them come more regularly. This can cause stress for the baby, as well as the mother. Women who receive pitocin cannot use water for pain relief. They have to be monitored continuously for the rest of the labor, even if the pitocin is turned off due to fetal distress.

Pitocin induction greatly increases the woman's desire for pain medication and increases the odds of having a cesarean birth, which involves additional risks.

Hire a labor support doula. Using doula support is another step towards lowering the intervention rates during birth. Doula supported births are shown to be faster, involve less medication and fewer cesareans. In addition, mothers who receive the assistance of a doula report that they feel more satisfied with their birth experience and have greater success with breastfeeding.

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