This is an utterly stunning work that should be required reading for all midwives, obstetrician-gynecologists, feminists of all persuasions--anybody involved in the health care of women. Not only does it take the wind out of the sails of those who believe childbirth is without consequences (part of the natural history of natural childbirth is maternal death), but it demonstrates how the industrialized world dropped its maternal mortality ratios nearly 100-fold in a century. This has important policy implications for international health work--providing that the international community can persuade developing countries to take women's health care needs seriously. Highly recommended.