Birth is a universal experience, yet the way birth is treated is by no means universal. In the United States, for example, almost all births occur in a hospital under the supervision of a doctor, while in the Netherlands thirty percent of births occur at home and midwives attend nearly half of all deliveries. Birth by Design is the first truly comparative and multidisciplinary study of maternity care and birth practices by leading experts in maternity care from the United States, Canada, and Europe. The authors explore the tangled histories of midwifery and obstetrics, the role of the state and of social movements in care at birth, the rise of managed care, and the impact of new perinatal technologies. Birth by Design offers a groundbreaking, cross-cultural understanding of maternity care and childbirth.