I found this when hunting about on homebirth. It's pretty long, so i'll just cut and paste a few bits to illustrate the tone of it.

For us the decade of the 1980s was a time of battle, struggle and controversy. As midwives we were very militant because we had to protect homebirth, and we produced books and videos and sought publicity everywhere. We decided that we wanted to change our image from being that of very hardworking worn-out midwives that lack the time to update our skills or undertake necessary research (or even record our results). We didn't want to feel burnt-out any more, so we worked at the political level to increase our income so we could attend fewer births and be properly recognised for our services (midwives have always been paid by the Government health system or by private health insurance companies).
The 1990s brought a new way of thinking. The obstetricians were silenced as it was shown that much of their research supporting hospital births was of very poor quality, when it was clear that the system of screening and birth in Holland was in fact outstanding. Births in hospital showed a much higher rate of perinatal mortality, as would be expected and proved that the system of identifying those at risk in the pregnancy was working properly.
The population of Holland is 15 million, and the annual number of births is around 74,500. Of the total number of births, 46% are attended by midwives, 8% by GPs and 46% are assisted by obstetricians.

There are 1422 registered midwives at present, of which 70% are in independent practice, 15% work as replacement midwives (for those on holiday or leave etc) and 15% work in the hospital clinics, mostly supervising students involved in training as midwives or doctors. Some midwives have now decided to specialise in high risk care and they work closely with obstetricians.

The homebirth rate has fluctuated: In 1997 31% of births took place at home and in 1998 this rose to 32.4%. In Amsterdam, the rate has risen from 18% in 1995 to 26% in 1998. In Rotterdam, the rate has risen from 19% in 1995 to 25% in 1998.

The national Caesarean section rate has risen from 8.5% in 1993 to 9.5% in 1997. Forceps/vacuum rates have remained steady: 7.7% in 1993 and 7.8% in 1997. The rate for epidurals is 6% with this form of pain relief only being used for Caesareans. The perinatal mortality rate in 1997 was 8.1 per 1000 births.
There is no tradition of litigation in Holland and this has been a major influence on the provision and development of our maternity care. The laws are such that if a client is unhappy with the care received from a doctor or midwife, she can attend a special committee, comprising midwives, obstetricians and GPs, who will review the case and the medical evidence. Financial compensation is not a consideration and usually if a mistake has been made this is acknowledged as something that does occasionally happen and the midwife or doctor will receive a warning. After three warnings court proceedings may be commenced. This approach is made possible because of the social support system in Holland, which provides fully for parents who have a handicapped child through the national insurance system and other community facilities. There is no need to sue the doctor or midwife to obtain money to pay for this care. This is a very ethical approach to the provision of maternity services and brings out the best in both the professional care givers and the community as a whole.
In talking to women we no longer promote homebirth as safe but rather say that the safest place to give birth is where there will be the least intervention, since each intervention in birth carries risks for the mother and baby. This means that it is not necessary to defend yourself as a midwife since you are just concerned about achieving maximum safety for mother and child. Every woman understands this message, which is so logical. Therefore we do not talk about the place of birth, which can be confusing and instead say that where to give birth will be decided during the labour when the woman will feel what she wants to do as part of the birth process.
Another very important message is about the pain of labour. We know that women can handle the pain and that they need the pain. It is a measure of the trust and confidence in the midwife that if the pain is abnormal some pethidine will be administered. Pethidine is not called "pain relief" but rather a "labour de-inhibitor" as it enables the women to sleep a little so that she can handle the pain better. Midwives are not able to give pethidine and a transfer to the hospital will be necessary so that it can be given by the doctor. This also discourages its use.

This attitude towards pain is crucial to the way birth is handled in Holland by the midwife and the obstetrician. It is well understood that if a drug is given for the pain it will harm the baby and we tell women this very clearly.
It really is an amazing insight. Dutch women are not OFFERED epidural and thus don't NEED epidural, unless they have to be sectioned. Very interesting and inspiring. There's a wonderful birth story later on about an american woman birthing in the Netherlands and her journey without epidural (which she calls for at one point).

Bec