Yes the relationship of some hospital staff and midwives can be prickly-I know it directly interfered with my care-and it wasn't the midwife-she was great. Also in the delivery room the young obstetrician deferred to my midwife's judgement!!! She has 30 year experience. And she was right in the end and not the doc(who had the bedside manner of a boor). Its a fight that midwifes are slowly winning-for respect. But I have seen a big shift lately. Most of my friends have had a midwife for a home birth or at the hospital-we like the relationship aspect. Although some docs may never want to give up their domain. Some nurses can get the same way. Where nurses/midwives duties overlap there can be friction I noticed. Even after I had complications requiring my delivering obstetrician-it was blasted at me that I should just deal with the midwife. As a patient I felt caught in something I wasn't involved in-I just needed proper care according to my midwife and general practitioner-and they felt it was the obsterician's duty. So patients get caught in the middle too.