They did. And they frequently died.
Complications such as post-partum infection ('childbed fever') were the real killers. And doctors who weren't real clear on the germ theory of disease and didn't practice rigorous sanitation were the No. 1 problem.
There's a great old popular medical book from the 20s by a doctor - can't recall his name at the moment. But he noted that the patients at the lying-in hospital in Jena in the 18th century had a mortality rate of one hundred percent.
My great-great-great grandfather was a prolific sort, he had 17 children by two wives. His first wife didn't die in childbirth - she died of typhoid fever.