Doctors can’t take all the blame, though. American women are more impatient and have less tolerance for natural child birth, too, so they are requesting c-sections at a record rate. Just like all of the rest of us in this gasoline-powered fast food nation.

Here’s a somewhat dated graph that powerfully illustrates the c-section phenomenon. Relentless Rise in Cesarean Section Rate

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. You have to do what is right for you.

I am now, depending on who you ask, midwife – over 40 weeks based off LMP and doctor – 38 weeks and 4 days. As the D-Day, as I am calling it, quickly approaches, I find myself more excited than ever. Whether this baby comes natural (which it will – positive thinking you know) or via c-section, I will feel unbelievably blessed.

Sorry again. I wasn’t meaning to have an attitude of any kind. That is just the way I am

My c-section, while there may be doctors who consider it an emergency simply because it was not planned, was not an emergency. I was fine, my son was fine, he simply had stopped descending. My doctor even gave me the option of pushing for another hour; however, after 24 hours of labor, 2 hours of pushing, 4 bags of fluid/medicine dripping into my arm, 1 epidural in my back, 1 catheter, 1 internal contraction monitor, and 1 internal fetal monitor, I had had enough!!! As I have stated in my previous posts, how many of those interventions were truly necessary?

While I have chosen a VBAC, I would never say that it was the right decision for others. If it would put my child’s or my life at risk, I wouldn’t do it. As it is though, there are MANY other things that can go wrong in a pregnancy and the chances of those things happening are greater than some of the risks associated with VBAC – uterine rupture being the one most often mentioned. Does that mean we should choose to not get pregnant?

I do not see myself as a failure because I delivered by c-section. I simply see it as an experience I would rather not have to go through again. One week after delivering my son, my husband asked if I was suffering from postpartum depression. I was no where near depression, I was just sad. Sad that this experience I had so looked forward to all my life had not turned out at all the way I had expected it to. I was in pain. Sometimes so much that I tried to will my son back to sleep because the process of swinging my legs off the side of my bed, bracing myself with one arm on the bed and one of the wall to assist me in sitting up using my abdominal muscles as little as possible was too much to think about. Add to that sheer exhaustion because I had newborn who ate non-stop and breast feeding was failing miserably with a lactation consultant finally telling me that the extent of the damage done to my nipples could qualify as a new “worst” picture in her book. Not only was I suffering from physical pain, I was also suffering from emotional pain.

I choose to attempt a VBAC and frankly if others choose to judge me because they think I am putting my life or my child’s life at risk, have at it. I have done my research. I have the support of my midwife, my physician, my husband, and the rest of my family members, and that is all I need to know I am doing the right thing.

Because the form of my deliveries was not a choice, I haven’t thought much about the urge to push. It wasn’t an option and I don’t feel as though I missed something. After two high-risk pregnancies and, with my first, months of vaginal bleeding, threatened miscarriage, and bedrest, I didn’t spend a moment – literally – feeling as though I was missing out on something.

Like many of the women above, I support a woman’s right to deliver her baby in whatever way she chooses. I understand the arguments against c-sections that aren’t deemed medically necessary, but, frankly, I don’t think we have the right to judge the decisions another woman is making. I’m sure it’s not intentional, but there is a subtle current in some of the comments above that a c-section delivery is somehow “less than.” And I think that attitude is more pervasive than I realized before I had my c-section (maybe if I knew about it I would have felt badly about having a c-section?). And I think it is gravely to the detriment of women who seek a vaginal delivery but end up with a c-section.

Yes, women have been delivering babies naturally for centuries. But, as a woman who would have bled to death during a natural delivery before safe c-sections were available, I don’t feel it’s my right to judge what other women are thinking when they choose or don’t choose to have a c-section.

Thanks, Gale, for providing such “fertile” (yup, I had to do it too) ground for discussion. And thanks to your readers for such meaty commentary.

I had a complication free, easy, very enjoyable pregnancy and labor/delivery. No morning sickness, lots of healthy food (ok, a fair amount of ice cream, but come on!) and exercise, I felt great. I had never given c-sections a moment of thought, not for any reason, just that God had blessed me with this baby and He would do with me in this process as He intended. I didn’t overthink or obsess about anything, really, and that’s not usually a trait for which I’m known The thought that my water could break at any time of the day or I could go into labor at work crossed my mind, but it was never scary to me. Well, one Friday night at 2 am, it all started…and ended at 4:30 Saturday afternoon, one hour after checking into the hospital.

I had thought, sure, I’ll get an epidural because why not? Turns out, I labored at home so long that I was dialated to 8 cm when I arrived at the hosiptal and the speed at which I was progressing, there was hardly time for the doctor to get there, let alone get an epidural. So he was born all natural, was perfect, and I can’t say that I’d do my next one differently. For me, I just didn’t want to get to the hospital too soon because I wanted to be as in control as I could. I didn’t want people to interrupt what my body was telling me to do just so they could check my progress, my blood pressure, give me ice chips when all I wanted was a big glass of cold water, etc. I realize (and did the moment they placed that perfect boy on my tummy) was that I had been blessed with a wonderful experience. Was it painful? I would say mostly uncomfortable and really only for the last 2 hours, then yes, it was painful for the 8 or 9 pushes it took to get him out. (Side note, pain tolerance is another trait for which I’m not usually known But once he was out, I felt great. Endorphins and adrenaline kicked in and I wasn’t even tired…yet!

“They” are so quick to say that every woman is different, every pregnancy is different, and I am sure that the “healthy baby healthy mom” statement goes without saying to any parent or parent-to-be, translating that every delivery is viewed differently. The choice or need for a c-section is not one that should be judged by anyone. You do what works for you!!!! Personally, though, I wonder two things (without judgement):
1) Because every one is different, are there doctors, and an increasing number, who prefer c-sections due to the fact that the procedure is the same no matter who is on the table (true emergency c-sections excluded)?
2) Is the fear of the unknown what drives a woman to decide one route or the other? Never had a vaginal delivery…scary. Never had a c-section (or any major surgery)…scary. Don’t know when or where the baby will come…scary.

For as long as we’ve been around, women have never had “control” of when the baby came. And anyone who knows me understands that I am quite often seen as a “control freak.” BUT we see movies, Baby Story, etc. that show women screaming and sweating for hours, but in reality, is that truly how it is, or has to be? Sure, that scared me, but when it was my time, there was no fear. Just focus, breathing, and the calming support of my wonderful husband. I guess what my ending thought is – the unknown is scary and let’s face it, none of us know what we’re getting into especially the first time around. I don’t believe that I would view a c-section as failure, but the recovery of my vaginal birth was only a few days. I wouldn’t change a thing and can only pray that the next time I get the blessing of another child, I have a similar experience. Was I lucky? I don’t think so because everything I did up to the minute he was born was a decision – what I ate, how much I slept, exercising regardless of desire, even when in labor. For me, God made us to do this and grants us the opportunity to not only give birth, but create a life. Who could ask for more.