It’s worth noting that childbirth was most dangerous in the period when women first switched from midwives to physicians. Midwives knew how to deliver babies but doctors didn’t necessarily. They were not your best bet until medicine modernized. Neither midwives nor doctors could do anything about things like placenta previa, but a decent midwife did no harm. It’s also worth noting that our ancient ancestors and women in traditional societies did NOT have overly large families. Extended biological breastfeeding delayed menses and naturally spaced babies about every four years. (Breastfeeding as practiced by most women today should not be relied upon to prevent conception.) Recommended reading: The diary of colonial midwife Martha Ballard by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich; Ina May Gaskin’s Spiritual Midwifery; and Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, particularly the research by Dr. Katherine Detweiller.