We're having a major baby boom around here, so many of my friends and coworkers are pregnant. I had my daughter 10 months ago, and in my usual style I read almost every book out there about pregnancy and birth. So I planned it with a midwife and no meds. Yeah - natural childbirth makes extreme sports look wimpy and tame.

But it's amazing and disturbing to me how uninformed and misinformed so many of my peers are about this stuff. A C-section is major surgery (my cousin, who's an OB/GYN tells me) and it's marketed as a quick little harmless fix. It's pushed on you by doctors and nurses alike because it makes their job easier and costs your insurance company more money.

I had a clear birthplan when I went in to have my daughter, but I was 6 weeks early, although with a totally healthy baby. I had had steroid injections to ensure the completed development of her lungs, because I had started labor a few days before that. So there was no real concern about that, but still the hospital insisted that a doctor, instead of my midwife, "deliver" the baby. I was only in the hospital in labor for about 3 hours, but my partner and I spent most of that time fighting with the doctor and nurses to keep our birth plan and refuse most interventions. They wanted to give me an epidural and pitocin, which is a contributing factor in many C-sections, since it makes the contractions come so close together that the baby's oxygen supply is cut off for too long and with insufficient breaks in between. Even though I had not been in labor for very long, they wanted me to have a fluid IV , which is also a contributing factor to the C-section rate as it makes the baby retain water, which makes a bigger baby that's harder to deliver vaginally... The final conflict occured when the head was crowning, and everyone could see that it was getting pretty tough for me. Without even asking, the doctor picked up the episiotomy knife (scary!) and was going to cut me without even saying a word or asking my permission! My birth plan clearly stated that I did not want an episiotomy. My partner was just barely able to stop her in time, and then had to argue with her about it while she stood with the knife poised and ready. Jesus! However, that little conflict gave me an additional adrenaline rush, and in the next two contractions I pushed hard enough to deliver her easily. Nothing like being threatened with a knife to make you get the thing over already!

I've heard other similar stories where birth plans were ignored, or the reasons why the staff was going to set the birth plan aside were explained in a patronizing tone with a complete lack of helpful and honest information. I've observed this kind of attitude myself at the births of my niece and my cousin's child, which was the motivation for many items in my birthplan. So in my experience most women are underinformed and coerced by medical staff. They're socialized to revere doctors and not question their authority. Their frightened into submitting to whatever the medical staff wants to do by the threat of an unhealthy baby, when ironically enough it is generally the medical interventions themselves that cause problems. I think that whenever you're dealing with the medical industry you should remember that it is first and foremost an industry whose primary goal is to make money. Your interests will always be second to this goal. Given this fact, you are the only one who will be an advocate for your health and safety, and it's up to you to ask questions, do the research, and challenge the medical personnel you interact with if necessary.

Wow, I can't even talk about this without it turning into a total rant. Sorry!

Holy shit, Rachel, that's awful!!! You're a tough woman, I'd be traumatized for life if a doctor came at my vagina with a sharp object while I was in labor!

I have booked my c-section (for child three).

I understand your point, but I get really tired of being told how under-informed I am. I have read everything I can get my hands on, and I am doing what is right for me.

I am all for getting women education and teaching them not to take doctors at their word. I am also highly in favour of teaching doctors better procedures. We are the victims of their shitty practices. It isn't all on us.

Luna:

If you don't mind me prying, what are the benefits of delivering through cesarean and why have you made the choice to do it three times? I'm not arguing or anything (it's not my place to judge how you want to deliver your kid and I really am not on one side or the other as far as this matter goes), I'm just curious and I'd like to hear from someone who has gone the cesarean route multiple times.

Thanks, SaltyLilKipper. A number of women I know do actually describe their birth experiences as being traumatic. I think it's more likely to be traumatic when you feel like you have no control over the situation, and at least I had a fairly high degree of control.

Luna, I guess I've just never known anyone who voluntarily chose a C-section if they knew what was involved. I've known a lot of women who were told they had to have them, including two who had "emergency" C-sections the first time so were told to schedule C-sections for the next one. But from everything I've read and the conversation I had with my cousin about this, if they had been in most Western European countries, for example, almost all of them would have delivered vaginally because the medical establishment there doesn't stand to gain from encouraging C-sections.

I also have two friends (one mentioned above) who were told they had to have C-sections after a few hours of labor, and afterward they both felt that they were not properly informed of their options or of what was involved in the C-section. Also, my sister-in-law was "strongly encouraged" to schedule one because her doctor was going on a ski trip the weekend after she was due and he wanted to get it over with in a timely manner that Friday. When she refused he told her that she was just going to have to accept whatever doctor was on call, then. So she did, and delivered my nephew just fine without any major surgery. These experiences make me feel really suspicious about scheduled C-sections, and I'm curious to know why you would prefer one.

It looks like they just have gigantic clearinghouse of all kinds of pregnancy-related designs with no real driving philosophy. Including the 'for the father-to-be' shirt with a picture of a stick-figure pregnant woman captioned "I did this". UGH! But also the kind of amusing "HANDS OFF! Please don't touch my tummy." Maybe the person responsible is just really excited about pregnancy and not very thoughtful about the process.

That's a funny CafePress store! Looks like someone was trying to think of anything that could ever apply to any pregnant woman.

Any of the types of birth options mentioned fall within the range of maternal choice.

I have always wondered who pays for c-sections with no medical indication. Does the mother have to make up the difference in cost between surgery and normal vaginal birth? In the current birth climate, women are again discouraged or banned from vaginally birthing after having had a c-section because there is a marginal (0.5%) chance of uterine rupture. So I'm wondering about *primary* elective c-sections with no medical indication.

It might not be a choice I would make or understand, but it's not up to me (or anyone) to judge what another woman chooses for herself and her body, is it?