Yes, it is possible- had my first baby in a hospital in Boston in
1987.Big hosp.- teaching hosp. for Harvard Med. Schoo.
I had a lay midwife do labor support. She came to my house- I purposely
delayed going to hosp. Got there in trasition.
I was left alone except for my husband and the midwife. baby born 3 hrs.
after my arrival. No drugs, no fetal monitor, no episiotomy, etc. I was
in a "birthing  room" . Husband did not have to scrub and change into
scrubs.He just wore his regular jeans and t-shirt as did midwife. they
didn't even care what I wore.As it was, I gave birth naked, wearing a
pair of my dad's old socks! a few times med . students, interns, etc.
came in. I didn't really mind. Perhaps they were a bit shocked to see me
standing up on the birthing bed naked!Complete freedom re: birthing
position and laboring postions.
I feel a big help was that I had done a lot of reading and preparation
and was aggressive about what I wanted. or didn't want. But amazingly
they didn't try to push me to drugs or whatever.
we brought the crock pot and washcloths so the midwife could do hot
compresses on the perineum. I also did perineal masssage before the
birth. starting I think about 6 wks. before due date.
Water broke naturally, while I was pushing. Meconium in the fluid did
cause them to get someone in there to do suctioning of my daughter after
birth.
so that was the only intervention.
OB had no prob. with midwife being there and assisting.
I did receive pit. after the birth due to excessive bleeding.

Doc. said I could go home later that afternoon.(birth was at 8 am)
I chose to spend the night.
My experience with the birth led me to choose birth center for next
birth ad homebirth for third one.I just couldn't see what all the fuss
was about. Meaning, for a normal birth like I had, why does one need to
be in hosp. with all of those interventions(that I didn't have, but I
know many do have)

I didn't realy realize how unusual my hosp. birth experience was until I
talked to more moms and dads and heard their birth stories.

BTW, with the 2 subsequent birth, in birth center and at home, I also
had to have pit. for excessive bleeding, I don't think the hosp.
experience had anything to do with the bleeding, it just seems to be a
personal quirk of min.However, the midwifes at the last 2 births watched
me alot more closely after birth than the nurses did in the hosp.I truly
feel the nurses were negligent in this. 2 hours after birth a nurse came
and checked on me ."oh honey, you shouldn't be bleeding this much! here,
this is how you do uterine massage. now you do it" and she left, yeah,
right, I was the one who just gave birth! Not really up to massageing my
own uterus in an aggressive fashion.Soon after I got the pit., but by
then enough blood had been lost to cause me to become very anemic.

ellen in Pittsburgh