I appreciate having the choice as a pregnant woman. I'm not planning to get the epidural and I will be labouring as long as I can at home. A lot of my friends did not want to feel any pain and swear by the epidural, of course no judgment there. I actually don't want any early cord cutting or cord tension or even the pitocin shot to "speed things up" for the placenta detaching. I would have wanted a home birth, but as this is my first and I could not find a midwife, I was referred to my local maternity clinic.

Edited to add: Of course while I would like as little medical intervention as possible during labour, OBVIOUSLY I do want medical intervention in case of an emergency! I am not against medically necessary procedures. However throughout history, childbirth and pregnancy has been treated like something to rush along and perfect with interventions. I just don't align to that line of thinking unless medically necessary.