Hello All,
I have to add my .02 here.  I have worked for the last 8 years at a
freestanding out of hospital birth center as labor and delivery RN, LC, etc.
Of the women who receive prenatal care here, about 2/3 of them deliver at
the local Level 3 hospital, the others at our birth center, where we do not
use pain medication, and labors tend to proceed with little/ no
intervention.
  My comment is an echo to Kathleen's recounting of Ina May Gaskin's story.
It is very unusual for us to see a baby who won't latch on (though I can
remember several, generally no more than about one a year).  The majority of
real difficulties we encounter are among our hospital birthing population.
Martha Johnson RN, IBCLC
Eugene, Oregon