I have two children and I didn't have any internals with either of them. First time I said "aren't you going to check how many centimetres dilated I am" and the midwife said I was making progress so she wouldn't check unless I insisted. Second time I was a tad late with phoning my midwife - when she arrived, she walked in the door, heard the noises I was making, took one look at me and said to my husband "baby's nearly here"! She was right too. I think internal examinations are exactly like all other labour interventions: very useful if they are necessary / medically indicated, but not appropriate as standard procedures.