Kinda makes you think: If you're not willing to push them out, are you really prepared to have them? Check Britney the Baby Dropper as an example...

Something tells me Angelina's gonna squeeze that Pittling out. No drugs, yo.

My OB/GYN was afraid I might need a C-section when I went into labor with my son, and I was terrified. Why on Earth would anyone want to be cut open like that if they don't need to? It is so much easier to heal after a vaginal birth (assuming your baby doesn't have a giant head) and an epidural should take all the pain out of pushing anyway.

Typical blame the victim approach. If you talk to postpartum women, you'll find an awful lot of them who were *pressured* into c-sections by docs and hospitals, who find them easier to manage/schedule than regular births. Despite studies showing it's safer to birth naturally even after a c-section, in the US some hospitals refuse to treat women who want to attempt such a birth, citing liability issues. So many women get mulitiple cs because they're afraid to homebirth or can't find a dr. to support them. It goes a lot deeper than women being too "posh". You might check out www.ican-online.org for good info on the real causes of rising c-section rates here and abroad.
/gets off personal soapbox

They may want to rethink their campaign -- "too posh to push" makes it sound like elective C-sections are, like most everything else women are accused of being selfish yuppies for having, better and easier than the alternative. If anything, it would make me consider the possibility.

to be honest, a ripped open vagina isnt sexy either. or the lasting effects you have from that in terms of sex for both you and your partner. childbirth sucks, i am not sure there is any good way to go about it.

I don't know, emjay. I have a hard time believing that women are intelligent enough to make the decision to have a child (or not), yet so weak and fragile as to be pressured into a surgical proceedure they don't want.

I can imagine someone being mature enough to have a baby and being pressured into having an elective C-section. Imagine you are pregnant with your first baby and you have no idea about medicine, really, sure,you're smart but you aren't a doctor, and your doctor encourages you to have a C-section because there are "fewer risks for you and your baby". Tell me that you could say a cold-faced no to that, when everything in you is saying that you should protect this creature come hell or high water. That makes sense to me.

That said I still don't really understand elective C-sections. Especially, the ones talked about in a New York Times article in the fall that talked about women scheduling their C-sections early to avoid gaining that "extra dollop" of weight at the end of pregnancy.

What? You're too bound up in your body image to let your baby develop? This is just ridiculous to me.

You are incredibly vulnerable during labor, smart or no, and if you don't have all your defenses (including a knowledge of your rights to refuse any treatment you wish) then you can be pressured at your weakest moments. Because there's always the implication that if you don't do as they say, your baby will die (whether there's any real danger or not). It's very hard to resist such pressure. ICAN has pages and pages of information to arm yourself with for that very reason. Which I wish I had known beforehand.

And hey, you wanna see unsexy, I'll show you my c-section scar. A lot of the worst v-birth damage, by the way, can also be traced to some types of interventions..but I've ranted enough.

Certainly in the moment of labor, I could see a doctor pressuring a woman into something like a C-section. I was only referring to pre-planned ones.

There is enough information out there and I can't imagine someone not doing that reasearch for something as important as giving birth. Maybe I'm just the exception, but I researched everything my doctor said - and I was only 20 when I had my daughter. Besides, I thought it was common knowledge that vaginal deliveries were almost always safer if there were no complications.

I would imagine childbirth sucks indeed, and have no intention of finding out any day soon. That said, I have no idea what I'd do in terms of delivery. One of my mommy friends once told me if I ever get serious with a guy and think there's a slight possibility kids are in the future, that I'd better make sure he's well-endowed (Kegels notwithstanding).

Despite the vulnerability that may or may not be present in each case, you have to operate under the assumption that a woman can make her own decision. You can also apply this to the whole period-stopping debate, breastfeeding (you should see my 92-year-old grandma's still-perky rack!), plastic surgery, abortion, etc. You'd better believe if it primarily affects my body, I'd like to have the final say.

What's the point of admonishing another woman if she made a choice I didn't agree with? There are plenty of non-feminists around to do that!

I don't know... I personally think if a woman would rather have a c-section than a vaginal birth, more power to her. Either way is pretty unpleasant, honestly, and as along as she's well informed of the risks, the pros and the cons and still decides on her own she would rather have her stomach cut than rip her vagina, I don't see any issue with that. C-sections may be a bit riskier, but they are still extremely safe and it strikes me as her decision whether or not it's worth the risk. I had a hideous recovery from my non-complicated vaginal birth (I tore substantially and also tore cartilidge in my pubic area) and watched people around me recovering from c-sections in about half the time it took me. I'm expecting again and if I were offered a c-section, I would take it in a heartbeat. Not because Britney did it, or some other nonsense like that, but simply because I would like to be able pee without screaming in less than 8 weeks.

Epidurals are not without risk either, and they are often part of a "cascade of intervention" that ultimately ends in a c-section. Henci Goer, a researcher and writer, has documented the risks of epidurals and c-sections extensively in her books Obstetrical Myths versus Research Realities and The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth.

I am 21 weeks pregnant myself and am reading extensively about childbirth. I am increasingly convinced that my husband and I are making the right decision to have this baby at home if we can, and to avoid pain medication as much as possible. The birth stories I've read in Ina May Gaskin's Ina May's Guide to Childbirth describe intensely spiritual experiences in which women can feel the mind-body connection more immediately than at any other time in their lives. I hope I can be so lucky.

The more I learn about the medicalization of low-risk births, the angrier I get. Women are told that our bodies are somehow inherently flawed and dangerous to our children, and must therefore be medicated or even cut open if our labour strays too far from the "average," which is increasingly narrowly defined.

All that said, Julie, I'm so sorry to read about your terrible experience. How awful. I really hope that your next birth goes better. Best of luck.

I also don't understand what all the fuss is about. There is enough information about C-sections vs. vaginal birth so that every woman can make her own decision. If women can make a decision to give birth at home, or to have an abortion, or get bigger boobs, certainly they are also smart enough to decide if they want to have a c-section or not. The more choice the better.

Just found a fascinating (and alarming) report on a survey done earlier this year on this very topic.

The first national data from women themselves clarify that demand from women for a planned initial (or "primary") cesarean with no medical reason is infinitesimal. Despite some professional and mass media discourse about "maternal request" or "patient demand" cesarean when there is no medical indication, just one woman (0.08%) among 1315 survey participants who might have initiated a planned primary cesarean without medical reason did so. Just that one woman (0.4%) out of 252 survey participants who actually had a primary cesarean initiated a planned cesarean without medical reason. Two other women with a primary cesarean said that it was scheduled ahead of time without medical reason and initiated by a health professional. All others (98% of women with primary cesareans) believed that there was a medical reason for their cesarean. The most common reasons cited were concerns about fetal distress, position of baby, size of baby, and prolonged labor.

So emjaybee above is right on. (And that whole report is worth reading.)

I hope all goes well for you, Emily.

I think women should be encouraged to seriously research the pros and cons of every birth option. Then, if possible, designate one person to be their advocate that understands and respects their wishes in the event that a doctor does become pushy. Women should also be encouraged to learn about the potential problems that might make it necessary to change their plans once labor begins.

Thanks Emily... best of luck to you as well! My labor with my daughter was actually a pretty cool experience despite it's inherent painfulness, so I really hope that you are able to have the birth experience you are planning for! And I don't mean to scare anyone- my recovery was pretty bad, but it's most certainly not the norm. I just wanted to add another perspective as to why a woman might choose a c-section over a vaginal delivery.

At Ladyfest Dublin we had a workshop on women's health and so many women at that workshop testified to not having their wishes respected during childbirth. One woman was nearly drugged without permission, only her husband stepped in and told them not to do it. Fucked up, makes me wanna have a homebirth with a midwife when I squeeze one out.

I'd rather have my tummy cut open than my vagina. That, and I'm not fond of the idea of forcing a watermelon through a keyhole.

I think as long as women are well informed, it should really be their choice. There is a lot of misinformation out there. Check out http://www.cesareansection.co.uk/ if your interested in elective c-sections - helps present the other side.

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Fell upon this website and had to comment. I loved birthing my children! I had planned a homebirth with my second in March but had cholestasis and couldn't risk bringing my son to full term. I had my natural birth the second time anyway. I read the same books from Ina May Gaskin and Henci Goer. Brilliant. A lot of the complications from C-sections aren't listed to pregnant women by practitioners. Neither are epidurals. Some women are given episiotomies after they have refused them. Informed consent is next to nil in too many hospitals.

Anyway, childbirth is a huge womens rights issue largely ignored. Too many women read What To Expect When You're Expecting, listen to their dr's and do as they are told because they are good compliant patients worried about which cheese they are allowed to eat. The UK and the US really need to fight to get their rights for homebirth up. In the UK many women are coerced by midwives into hospitals despite their rights to give birth at home. I've seen this with family back home.

In the US many states refuse to allow midwives to practice and dr's don't provide services in the home. I've spoken to friends online dealing with this. Hospitals are wought with interventions. Normally well educated, opinionated, strong women seem to be way too quick to roll over and do as they're told while pregnant. And when something goes horribly wrong from all of the interventions by their practioners, women are the first to say "thank god I had a great dr, he saved our lives." Half the time they lead their patients right into danger. Doctors aren't Gods, they try to fit us into their schedules and when we aren't fitting they hurry us along and put us in harms way.

My 2 cents turned into a novel. I just get so wound up by the failure of so many western countries health systems to recognize womens reproductive rights.