I'm not saying giving birth isn't a big deal or anything, but how long does it take?

It might dominate your agenda for a couple of days, if you need to be induced or take a while to dilate, it might feel like a week. But, that's it. Job done.

It could not matter more that women and babies are looked after well during that intense time, whether in a hospital, midwife-led unit or their own home. The report on the deaths of both babies and mothers at Furness General in Barrow, which talks of a "lethal mix" of failings and midwives who dubbed themselves "the musketeers", is painful reading. My heart goes out to the families who have to live with the devastating consequences.

But it also tells us what really matters about NHS care when you are in labour. You need staff with the training and professionalism to recognise if something isn't going to plan and to take good decisions about what should be done. The staff, in turn, need to be able to call on the resources required to look after everyone.

All the other debates about giving birth - whether you have access to a pool, or a big round ball, or can choose to do it in your living-room - are somewhat fluffy in comparison.

Yet we don't seem to tire of talking about them. I've been sat at my computer calling on the Scottish Government to review care of the elderly for more than 18 months, then last week they announced a review of maternity and neonatal services - just like that. Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, said "we have excellent and safe maternity and neonatal services in Scotland," but apparently they want to look at examples of good practice - such as stuff on where its best to give birth - and consider them. My immediate reaction was: Why? Sure experts at Nice have just published recommendations on this very subject, but Nice issues guidelines all the time and there are mechanisms for dealing with them.

Lots of midwives are due to retire in the next 10 years - so we need a decent workforce plan - and cots in neonatal units are under real pressures at times - so that problem wants fixing. The Morecambe Bay investigation highlights the need to review maternity services which are remote or difficult to recruit to. Good.

But I fear a lot of chitchat about empowering mothers to avoid hospital births, when the bottom line is women will go on voting with their swollen feet anyway.

Sometimes there's a reverence about childbirth which is detached from the reality.

I remember people waxing lyrical about hand-held maternity records for pregnant women to carry around, which sounded fab until I got one - but no briefcase to cart it about in. I also completed a birth plan once which mentioned the possibility of music being played.

You know young people with serious mental health problems have to wait more than six months to see a specialist in some parts of Scotland. If maternity care is excellent and safe - let's stop dolling it up - and concentrate more resources on the magical but hugely complicated job or bringing up children.