Hi Sagres.... to give you a bit of background on this discussion we were talking about this a few weeks ago in this thread
Again it is a situation where there is no single answer. Sometimes no doubt people feel that they can control the process, only to find it takes on a life of its own. In other cases, women make what seem to be reasonable requests only to find that the hospital/ care provider isn't willing or able to comply. And then, as discussed in the thread above, some people are subjected to treatment which would not be acceptable in any other area of medicine. I think it's very difficult to write a birth plan that will be respected when your institution doesn't reveal the parameters in which your birth will be managed. That information is not given out in ante-natal classes, and really it is some of the most important information you can have when trying to prepare yourself to give birth.
Like you my expectations were pretty fluid, but I still think that I was lucky to have an experience that was pretty good and to receive care that was respectful and competent. If you have a look at the other thread you will find that some of the stories go well beyond a simple mismatch of expectations with reality, they relate to medical treatment which is really not worthy of the name.
If you have time to have a read, please come back and share your thoughts.