I birthed 3 of my 4 babies on my back, and all three were managed for one reason or the other. In the one birth where I was squatting on the floor, holding onto a support bar, it was not because I chose it, but it came on so fast I refused to move in case I gave birth midway to the bed. It was in the shower and so the birthcentre midwife quickly threw a heap of towels on the floor so I wouldn't freak out about the baby hitting the tiles.

I think in that circumstance, if I'd had had the time, I would have wanted to be in bed, because default for me when I'm in pain is wanting to lie down. But staying squatting actually made the birth very easy for me to manage in terms of pain management and pushing. Not so much for everyone else in the room, but definitely for me. I felt far more in control of the process than I've been on my back.

That's why I wanted to do the same with my last baby, but wasn't allowed to in the end because of the epidural, monitoring equipment and my plunging blood pressure. And the birth itself again was more difficult for me. But I would say that birthing standing up would definitely be counter-intuitive to start with for me, until I'm actually pushing, then it seems the natural thing to do.