I totally agree with this statement. 'Less is More' is never more true than for birth. Doing nothing is better than feeling you have to do something; and simply waiting sure beats intervening. To quietly wait takes trust and patience. They are the gifts you bring to a birth. That, and a lot of love. It's the love for the birthing couple and their baby that is your best guide to know what to do and when (and when the most loving thing to do is nothing - leave them in peace and privacy to find their way).

A recent birth confirmed to me that although this approach is ideal the majority of the time (and is optimum all of the time), there can come a time when extra help is needed - in some cases. This was one of those times. The mother reached 8 cm beautifully. The baby's head was slightly asynclitic. At that point we began to suggest some moves to help her relax and the baby's head to shift. After a long time, and after many techniques had been tried, we were still not successful. We transported to hospital. She had an epidural, got a total rest (she was exhausted) and was able to give birth with the help of a ventouse. Not the ideal we had all hoped for, but we were all so pleased that she averted a c/section. This mother worked so, so hard, she was just so valiant. I felt in this case that it was the timely and judicious use of interventions first at home and later at hospital.