Why Has the Hospital System Turned Childbirth into a Medical Emergency?

As someone deeply invested in childbirth education and supporting pregnant people, I can't help but express my growing frustration with how the hospital system views childbirth. Time and time again, I see birth treated as a medical emergency, something inherently dangerous, or even an unpredictable crisis waiting to happen. Yet, this could not be further from the truth of what birth really is: a natural, physiological event that has happened since the dawn of time.

But here we are, stuck in a medical model that views birth as something that needs to be controlled, managed and intervened with at every turn.

The Medicalization of Birth: A Misguided Approach

When did birth become an emergency? When did it shift from being a sacred, transformative experience to a situation where the mother is hooked up to machines, surrounded by beeping monitors, and urged to "hurry up" because her labor doesn't fit neatly into hospital timelines?

The answer lies in the way modern medicine has evolved. While advances in technology and healthcare have certainly saved lives—and I will never downplay that importance—they have also had a detrimental impact on how childbirth is perceived and managed. The system is wired to expect complications, prevent what they see as inevitable risks, and control the process through medications and surgeries that often aren't necessary.

For the majority of birthing people, childbirth is not an emergency. Their bodies are designed to do a healthy, normal process. However, hospitals are so used to treating illness and injury that they apply the same mindset to birth. The problem is that this mindset doesn't honor or even recognize the inherent capabilities of the birthing body.

How Fear Dominates the Birth Space

When you enter a hospital to give birth, it's like you’re walking into a place that is waiting for something to go wrong. The focus shifts from trusting the birthing person's body to working through an endless checklist of potential dangers. This fear-based approach is woven into every part of the hospital system.

Doctors are trained to manage risk, avoid lawsuits, and get quick results. In that process, they often prioritize interventions that speed up labor—like Pitocin to induce contractions or early epidurals—and perform more cesareans than necessary. They are focused on mitigating emergencies that, for the most part, don’t even exist.

What gets lost in this medicalized, fear-driven approach is the beauty of childbirth. The slow rhythm of contractions, the natural release of oxytocin, and the body's incredible ability to bring life into the world—things that don't require management or control. They require trust, patience, and support. But the hospital system simply isn't designed for that.

What Are We Sacrificing?

In treating birth like an emergency, we are sacrificing so much. We're losing the emotional and spiritual significance of the process, the confidence that birthing people can—and do—give birth without needing a team of doctors dictating the process. We're robbing families of the opportunity to feel empowered by birth, to understand that birth can be joyful and transformative, not a moment dominated by fear or the clinical rush of interventions.

And we are also sacrificing the long-term well-being of mothers and babies. Interventions that speed up labor, pressure birthing people to deliver by a particular time, or encourage cesarean births when not medically necessary can have lasting physical and emotional consequences. These interventions are often introduced out of convenience, not necessity.

Reclaiming Birth as a Physiological Event

So, how do we change this? How do we reclaim birth as the natural, beautiful experience that it truly is?

It starts by shifting the conversation. As educators, doulas, and advocates, we need to remind birthing people that they have choices. The hospital system may be entrenched in its ways, but pregnant people don’t have to be passive participants in the medicalization of their birth. They have the right to ask questions, to challenge unnecessary interventions, and to seek out providers who view birth as a standard, physiological process.

We need more birth education that empowers people to trust their bodies, understand the normal course of labor, and prepare for birth in a way that honors its natural progression. If that means considering out-of-hospital options like home birth or birth centers, then we need to support those choices, too.

We must also work to hold the hospital system accountable. By advocating for policy changes, better training for doctors and nurses in physiological birth, and increased support for midwives and doulas, we can create a more balanced approach that views birth not as an emergency but as a powerful and natural event.

My frustration with the hospital system isn’t just about the over-medicalization of birth—it’s about the harm we’re causing by not honoring the process for what it is. Childbirth is not a medical emergency for most; it is an uncomplicated, life-changing event that deserves to be treated with respect, care, and trust. It’s time we reclaim the beauty of birth and restore faith in the exceptional capabilities of the birthing body.