Childbirth was extraordinaly dangerous. 6-8 births per woman and a 1-2% chance of dying per birth for the majority of history.

We have no idea what that was like. Rates today are ~0.013%.

German hospital beds for giving birth are at a 45 degree angle, which to me looked like a good compromise between "the mother can safely take a nap when she is tired" and "gravity will help you". Also, they have these thingys to put your legs up, so the overall posture is pretty close to squatting. (But with a back rest to prevent you from falling over if you're sleepy.) And modern German hospitals also have a bathtub with handrails to hang from above. And they have chairs with a hole in them. There's like a lot of options to choose from. But the nurses said that, statistically, most women choose the 45-degree-bed anyway. My guess would be because it looks the most comfortable.

The first paragraph itself makes me not want to read further.

https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/1200x627/18720.jpg

The mother appears to be sedentary, rather than supine. I doubt I would have noticed that detail had I not read the article.

Can't we just focus on the scientific advantages and not try to shoehorn sexism into everything?

TL;DR men saw money/opportunity in stealing women’s confidence in their natural and intuitive ability to give birth, built up tools and laws around it, and now we are stuck with a high caesarean AND fatality rate even despite this “progress.”

I went to school to be a hospital midwife until I discovered what a sad racket it is. No wonder we also have high rates of postpartum depression.

We're not meant to do anything. It's not like we were consciously designed with a purpose in mind. Do whatever you want.