I believe that fathers should be present in the birth of their child if they're interested in their children at all. It's a huge emotional thing and I can't imagine how any father could have a complete relationship with their child without having witnessed their birth.
Being put off sex?? FFS. I bet those are the same men who are put off practicing oral sex because they think women's bits are "a bit icky".
As for them being useless, that sounds to me like the classic excuse "oh I can't vacuum/cook/put the dishwasher on... I'm useless, me. You better do it, darling".
Men can be very useful during labour; if nothing else, they can act as an interpreter for the woman if she's too whacked out to have a coherent conversation with the doctor or midwife. Of course that implies that he'd need to be aware of the woman's choices (what kind of pain relief, etc.) beforehand, but any man who's involved in the whole pregnancy/birth process would do that.
I was adamant from the start that Dan would be involved in as many aspects as possible. He couldn't experience the physical sensations of pregnancy (apart from kicks and movements) but I made sure I told him how I felt, with the proviso that I didn't really need him to do anything about it (men like to solve problems, whereas women often only want to share them, not necessarily a solution). He was the one who had wanted children, so I guessed he would be more interested in it all than me, who was quite reluctant.
During labour he was a lifeline. My mother couldn't be with me, and I don't have any female relatives or anyone I trusted enough to be with me, and anyway Dan is not only my husband, he's my best friend, and the father of my child, so he was the ideal person to be there. I needed him for support and to make sure I got all the help I needed; but he also wanted to be there for himself. He made sure the midwife knew what I needed when I couldn't articulate it myself; told me jokes when I was in good spirits; held my hand, stroked my cheek and told me how well I was doing when I was in pain. He also helped me prepare for contractions by keeping an eye on the monitor, and kept me informed of how the baby was doing. He fetched me fruit juice, water, the TENS machine, helepd me to my feet when I wanted to change position or go to the bathroom, and held on to me when they gave me the epidural. When they wheeled me into theatre for an emergency Caesarean, he was there holding my hand and telling me to hold on just a bit more, even if he was as scared as me. I couldn't have done it without him.
As for the issue of hospitals... I was from the beginning certain that I wanted a hospital birth. I think this is a cultural thing; home births are almost unheard of in Spain, everybody goes to hospital and has an epidural. The UK has many more choices (home birth, water birth, different pain relief options, etc.) and I think it's a good thing that they try to accommodate all different philosophies of childbirth, from the hippy "labour is not an illness, so I don't need drugs or a doctor" to "too posh to push" elective Caesarians. I myself was in the "give me all the drugs you have" camp.
I couldn't (and still can't) understand home births without pain relief, they're definitely not for me. But maybe I have a low pain threshold. I was also shocked that I wouldn't be seen by a gynaecologist or tocologist throughout pregnancy and labour, unless anything went very wrong; in this country, midwives take care of everything that falls within the "normal" spectrum. I can understand the reason for it (after all, pregnancy and labour are not illnesses)... but I'd still have felt more reassured seeing a doctor at some point.
In any case, I had an uneventful pregnancy and didnt' need one, but boy was I glad of all the modern medical technology at the hospital when it was clear that I couldn't have Alex naturally. And it was VERY clear - it wasn't a case of doctors prescribing a c-section for me to fit in with their schedules. They really tried to have me deliver Alex with as little intervention as possible, but my body just didn't play ball, which is when they intervened. I'm happy with that; perhaps they could have induced me a bit earlier (they let me wait for over 24h since my waters broke), but it wouldn't have made any difference in the end.
My hospital experience was brilliant, the midwives were fantastic (I had one with me throughout the night when I was in labour... and it was a very busy time) and I got all the pain relief, attention and help I needed. I know that hospitals in the UK vary a lot, but at least I can say that the one I went to (NHS, by the way) was top notch.