I was kind of thinking she should have just died of the Darth Vader force choking her and they could've...I don't know, ripped the babies out or something. Then when Palpatine triggers the wonderful 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!' from Vader, it would actually have had a point.

Or she could've died of Nabooian fever. Or fallen off her speeder. Or had an actual complication in the birth. Or gone back as you say and gotten killed by Anakin. Or any number of ways which weren't so very irratating. Especially since she didn't seem the wilting flower type, at least not in the second movie (I haven't seen the Phantom Menace, so I have no idea what she was like in that).

(That aside, she made one hell of a corpse. I hope I look that good at my funeral. Hell, I hope I look that good at my wedding!)