As a counter to this point there have been scandals in England (eg Morcambe Bay, but there are others) where midwives killed babies through a combination of incompetence and arrogance, creating a dysfunctional culture that promoted midwifery to the exclusion of other professions - all because they had an unrealistic belief about "normal birth".

Normal birth is defined here: https://betterbirths.rcm.org.uk/resources/read/defining-norm...

Here's the Kirkup report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...

Here's the RCOG response: https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/news/rcog-res...

The RCM dropped their campaign around "normal births" shortly after Kirkup, and launched "better births": http://www.rcmnormalbirth.org.uk/

A news report that's a nice summary: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/12/midwives-to-...

In England it seems the safest option is to have a mid-wife led birth with medical help available. Having a consultant obstetrician available appears to decrease rates of intervention, not increase them.