I get the feeling AROM is one of those things that get done because "we can and it's what we're trained to do" - it's one of the tools in the sandpit and human nature wants to play. The art of birth is always to do less, not more, and it's always easier to do something than to do nothing but trust.

As the saying goes, "Don't just do something!! STAND there!!"

The labours I have witnessed in which AROM was not done, there was certainly no detriment to leaving the waters to break naturally. I've often heard women seduced into agreeing to AROM with "it will speed things up" but i think the waters, and the sac, are there for a purpose and are a useful shock-absorber.

There may be rare cases in which AROM can be a useful tool, but I think like most intervention, it's over-used because of the endemic "Failure to Wait."

Why should birth be rushed at all? Finances, scheduling and artificial timetables are some reasons why birth is often pushed or rushed.

If that's not what you want, then you need to be a very canny, careful consumer to make sure that you get what you want.

The first rule of successful & satisfying birthing? Location. Location. Location.