In the UK an elected caesarean is generally only offered to a
woman who has had an emergency caesarean before or if there are sound
medical reasons why it might be difficult or dangerous for her to
deliver naturally.

Caesarean section is now the most commonly performed operation
on women in the UK with 100,000 such operations being carried out every
year, with many women electing a caesarean over a vaginal birth. Women
electing to have caesareans are being branded 'too posh to push' and it
is believed they are trying to protect their pelvic floor. It is
understandable why women want to protect their pelvic floor as the
muscles can be badly stretched during natural childbirth leading to
leakage of urine when coughing, sneezing etc. Pelvic floor or Kegel
excercises, weighted vaginal cones and bladders surgery are all very
well but many women do not want to make this sarifice so they can give
birth naturally. And we've all heard the rumour that celebrities are
electing caesareans to fit childbirth into their schedules!

The vast majority of Caesareans are performed using a spinal
epidural rather than a general anaesthetic, this means that the mother
is fully conscious throughout and gets to hear her babys first cry and
can offer it their first cuddle.

A Caesarean section takes less than an hour in the operating
theatre. The woman's partner can be there too, or observing through the
window if squeamish, to offer support and to be included in the
proceedings. Many women are up and about and going home within three
days of the operation. The horizontal wound soon heals to leave a neat,
barely-visible bikini line scar within a matter of weeks. Natural
childbirth on the other hand can lead to tearing of the vaginal lining
and perineal tissue which will need stitching very soon after delivery.
These stitches can be painful and lead to much discomfort afterwards
paticularly when going to the loo. Not something many women are
informed of before the birth!

So what is the downside to elective caesarean? Some women
complain of missing out on the miracle of natural childbirth and feel
they would have bonded better if they hadn't had a caesarean.
Caesareans are not as safe as vaginal births, even when the baby is
premature or breech, in fact a woman is four times more likely to die
as a result of a casaerean than from a vaginal delivery it may also
take longer to recover psychologically and establish
breastfeeding.

So how do you feel about caesarean it is a subject that is
increasingly discussed in the media. How did you give birth? How did
you feel about the decision you made? Why not share your views with
other mums at our forum!