I have very few issues with unassisted births, if the motivation has not been due to feeling that they cannot receive the care they want from midwives and health care providers. Women I know who have had unassisted births are very clued up about pregnancy and also in tune with their body and baby. They did it because they believe that is what birth should be like. As for not receiving ante natal care from a midwife, what does actually really mean? No scans? I've known many women with midwives who decline these. No blood tests? Ditto. No listening in antenatally? Guidelines already says that it is unnecessary prior to a certain gestation (24 weeks?, I'm not sure), and really before that point, all auscultation does is confirm that the baby was well at the point of listening in. Women do tend to be able to tell if they feel that they are growing and certainly from the point of view of women who are proactive and takes ownership of their pregnancy, they tend to spot things like low iron levels etc. and address the issue nutritionally.

Yes there is always a possibility that something can go wrong, but that is a small risk - childbirth isn't an exact science and occasionally things do go wrong, but I like to balance that with the risk of over-medicalising childbirth and all the ensuing risks of birthing in an obstetric environment where childbirth is seen as a disaster waiting to happen and a condition which needs to be controlled.