The Miracle of Life and Why It Makes Me Shake in My Moccasins

I am in public health, I have been the TA for womens health for... awhile now, I have seen plenty of birthing videos, read quite few books, heard the birth stories, and researched pain management techniques but still the idea of actually giving birth makes me grateful that I currently have 0 children (and 0 on the way). What is it about birth that makes those of us that havent done it shy away from actually doing it? Is it actually a traumatic process (I would guess that in some ways it is), or is it the way that our society portrays the process? Not too long ago I read an article about a woman in Mali that give birth, strapped her brand new baby (we're talking minutes old) on her back and went back to work. I am sure that her birth wasnt the most pain-free event but still it doesnt seem quite as dramatic as birth here. What is it that makes birth dramatic in the US? Is it the fact that we birth in hospitals with medical professionals around us? Is it because we know what can go wrong? Or is it our perception of pain that makes it seem traumatic and something that we should avoid, medicate, and block out? I dont have any answers, I think it is going to be a few years before I can answer any of those questions... I'll have to get back to you on that one.