Scrubbed up: More of your comments

Here are some more of your comments about Caesareans. Is rejecting a Caesarean like rejecting technological advances in transport or energy generation?

Read your previous comments

YOUR COMMENTS

At last, someone standing up for real women. I agree with you 100%. Why should women have to be natural on the one thing which is so important? After all, this morning I straightened my hair and brushed my teeth and then put all sorts of concoctions on my face. I burnt my toast and then drove to work where I checked my email and then looked at the BBC web site. Time for the Mother Earth Brigade to stop dictating to the rest of us. There is nothing wonderful about pain and risk, and those who want a caesarean should get it.
Liz, Leeds, UK

I have four children, three born by C-section and one vaginally. One of those c-sections saved the life of my baby who was in serious jeopardy, one ended a prolonged labour and one was done (according to my notes) to fit in with the needs of the lady in the room next door. I was bullied into it, it went severely wrong and I remember nothing of the first hours of my child's life. Giving birth naturally was empowering, hard, wonderful and easy by comparison - and I went home that day. C-sections may be an advance, but like everything else they come at a cost, which is often the mental health of the mother.
Merry Raymond, UK

I had no option but to have three C-sections. The consultant said I would have problems delivering my babies and I was not going to argue with him. Listen to medical advice and if there is technology there to help you, use it and don't put yourself and your baby/ies at risk.
Helena, Leicester, UK

I had my first baby at home, and it's not that I eschew medical technologies or their benefits, it's just that I didn't see the need to go to hospital unless I needed to. If there had been any reason to go to hospital then I would have done so - and I would have been first in the queue for a section had I needed one. The wonderful thing about living in a developed country is that we don't have to choose one or the other - we can plan a normal vaginal delivery knowing that if complications arise before or during labour, then assisted deliveries, epidurals and c-sections are also available. I think the issue that many women (not just home-birthers) have with obstetrics is its tendency to resort to such interventions in such a high proportion of cases in the UK - well above the level which the WHO regards as necessary. I agree with many of the things Prof Steer says, but wish to remind him that planning a homebirth is a rational choice for some women! All women should be supported and respected in the choices they make about their babies, their bodies and their birth - not just the ones that choose hospital and obstetric intervention.
Caroline, Edinburgh, UK

After 72 hours of very painful labour and a drop in the heart rate and blood oxygen level of our daughter, my wife had an emergency C-section. I don't countenance handing out surgery like confetti, but neither should a woman feel like a failure or be painted as such for having a C-Section. It is fantastic tool in preserving and delivering new life and should be used where appropriate, in other words where logic dictates.
Gareth Knowling, Shepshed, UK

I think C-sections are offered too freely and I think more should be spent on educating women about what happens during labour and techniques. Our bodies were designed for giving birth and it is the most natural thing in the world. I think we should be steering away from this "too posh to push" culture. Natural birth helps with bonding, milk, hormones and also recovery is generally a lot faster with a natural birth. I would recommend a natural birth to anyone, I had my first son in August 2008 with just gas and air and it was an amazing experience .
Laura, Exmouth, Devon, UK

My son was delivered by CS in 1981 for breech presentation. Had this been the 1930s we might not be here to tell the tale. Hurray for technological advances! I had another CS in 1984, again for breech presentation, but I have never felt cheated at not giving birth 'naturally'. Suppose this makes me non-macho female!
Jane Weeks, Bedfordshire, UK

I had my daughter naturally with no pain relief. I then was lucky enough to find myself pregnant with twin boys. Both were breech so I had a Caesarean section. Without medical intervention my sons and myself could have died. What's important is that mum and babies are born healthy.
Emma, Surrey, UK

If it hadn't been for C sections, neither of my daughters would have survived and, probably, neither would I. I knew quite early in my first pregnancy that a section was highly likely but trying to find out more about it wasn't easy. The health visitor at our ante-natal classes hushed me and treated the subject as if it were taboo! When it's needed, a C section is the best thing for all concerned.
Val Lawrence, UK

I truly believe women should experience a natural birth. After all this is nature's way. Obviously for medical reasons sometimes this is not the ideal situation but it really frustrates me when some women take the option of a c-section to fit in with their busy schedules or to take what they believe to be the easy way out. C-sections should be used in emergencies only. If you have to organise the day you give birth around your lifestyle then maybe you have to rethink your priorities.
Mrs K, Edinburgh, UK

Surgery is definitely associated with risks, but so is so-called "natural" childbirth. What about the damage done to the female pelvic floor muscles? How many women who undergo caesarean section later require repair of prolapse compared to women who give birth vaginally? Nothing is without risk, and if I were a woman, I would almost certainly choose to give birth via C-section.
Mark, Ascot, UK

I'm pregnant at the moment and due in July. People keep asking me what my birth plan is and it scares me sometimes to think of normal delivery, so I've told my husband to let it start out as normal but if it gets complicated, let's do a caesarean. Why suffer unnecessarily when doctors can help make it easier!
Rassi, London, UK

My first child was delivered by emergency caesarean. Although I had no choice at the time (she would likely have died otherwise), afterwards other people made me feel like I'd chosen the "easy" option to giving birth, and looked down on me for it. My second child was born naturally so I've experienced both methods. Personally I did prefer natural birth but I was amazed at people's negativity towards c-sections and how you are made to feel like you've done something wrong, even if you did it for the health and life of your baby!
Tina Lees, Preston, UK

After having two healthy children delivered by C-sections, I would like to thank medical staff for choosing the safest way for me and children. If having a "natural" delivery was forced on me, I would not be here now typing this email nor would my eldest child be alive. We must safeguard our health, because once you're gone, you're gone.
Jo Ryan, Chorley, UK

Medicine and as such surgery, is the science of healing. One does not need to be healed when giving birth. It is a natural process. But, when complications arise, it is good to have medicine/surgery around. We need to be grateful for the advances made in this field and use it when needed, not just because we can. My wife (and son) wouldn't be here if it wasn't for a c-section. But the decision was made once it was clear there were (going to be) complications. During birth, good and intelligent assistance and decision making is what is needed (and luckily available in most cases).
John, Knaphill, UK

When I was pregnant I was hoping for a natural birth but due to difficulties this was not possible and an emergency C-Section was required. I found the support from the staff a great help when faced with this, but my main concern was the safe delivery of my son which happened without a hitch and was a very happy and beautiful moment. I feel women should have a choice as to the birth they wish. We see celebrities paying for a C-Section but it's not a choice readily available on the NHS. Some women fear the birth process and I think it should be given as an option, the same way home birth is promoted to the masses.
Sarah Christie, Holywood, Northern Ireland

I had a breached baby that was delivered successfully by a C-Section. Thinking of the alternative of trying to have her delivered naturally fills me with foreboding of what this could have meant - both, or one of us could have died. My daughter is a bright, beautiful and caring big sister to her sibling sister who I had by natural means. My recovery was better after the C-Section as I had a infection after the natural birth. In this debate around C-Sections, do people loose sight of what is the important issues - to have a healthy baby and mother.
Anne Bradbury, Ashford, Kent, UK

At last! I am sick and tired of being thought as some kind of second class mother because I didn't spend 24-hours in sweaty, painful labour, but instead had a C-section to deliver my beautiful baby. In no other area of healthcare it's seen as a sign of weakness to accept medical intervention. Two hundred years ago amputations were done on a kitchen table, with the patient force fed rum to ease the pain. Was that a more authentic experience? Are today's amputee patients copping out by having an anaesthetic before the surgeon steps in with the saw? Of course not. Surely the objective of getting pregnant is to give birth to a happy, healthy baby and then get over the delivery as speedily as possible in order to care for your child? Why would any woman risk her life or that of her baby when there are medical procedures that will ameliorate those risks? And why can we not see a little sisterly solidarity instead of the endless competitiveness about labour. Sorry girls, but the amount of suffering you undergo in labour is not proportionate to how good a mother you are!
Fiona Phillips, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Having experienced normal deliveries, elective c-section and two emergency c-sections - one under general anaesthetic - I am very grateful to the availability of technology and obstetric expertise. It saved my life. My perspective is that, for me, the most enjoyable experience was normal delivery with no intervention - the best experience of my life to date. However, birth is a process which involves two people and the crucial outcome is that both mother and baby survive - with the least long term damage possible. You can't always have exactly what you want. C-sections do not necessarily represent failure but survival.
Julia, Northumberland, UK

I watched as my three sons came into this world naturally and wouldn't wish that ordeal on anyone. Last month my wife delivered our daughter by c-section. What a world of difference. Take advantage of technology. I have heard the terms, when a mother delivers naturally "she gave birth..." and if it was by c-section, 'the infant was "taken" from ....' That's messed up thinking. Take advantage of technology or hunt for your food.
Geopho, Tbilisi, Georgia

I have two daughters, both of whom were breech. I was advised to have elective Caesareans in both cases, due to a lack of expertise at natural delivery of breech babies. I had no issues with bonding with my daughters, and recovered well from the operations. Having listened to the stories of 'natural' deliveries, I really can't say I've missed out on anything at all! I became pregnant in order to have a child, not to experience natural birth - and I'm very happy with the outcome.
Kerensa Leith, Stansted, UK

There are valid reasons why natural birth is better than caesarean delivery; for instance, squeezing fluid from a baby's lungs as it is pushed down the birth canal and release of hormones that stimulate maternal instinct and breastfeeding. C-section should not be viewed as an "easy option" for the mother at the expense of the baby's wellbeing, but used only when medically necessary.
Dawn, Berkshire, UK

I have had four children, three were natural births and one was a c-section due to my son being transverse and I had no choice. Although it did save both me and sons lives, I did feel robbed by not being able to give birth naturally. I think that c-sections should only be done if there is an emergency not because it's a fashion statement or the "in thing" to do, giving birth naturally is an amazing experience even though painful, but truly worth it.
Zara Martin, Darwen, UK

I don't understand the negativity about C-sections. To be honest, I didn't fancy either option but in the end I didn't have a choice. I was expecting twins and developed preeclampsia. Everything went well. Afterwards I thought that if I ever got pregnant again I would choose a C-section. Why would any one willingly choose to endure that much pain, and worry about the amount of complications it can bring? Haemorrhage, tearing, incontinence. No thanks! I know there are risks to having a major operation such as a C-section but it isn't that bad and it doesn't mean you're a failure as a mother.
Alison Green, Manchester, UK

I am due to give birth to twins in October and whilst a natural birth would be lovely (if mother nature permits), I am more than happy to have a C-section if that is the safest way for my babies to be delivered. There is nothing wrong with having an emotional wish list but you must also know when it's time to get real.
Julie Mrowicki, Rugby, Warwickshire, UK