@coolio:mama will def have the final say on this.pls respect her wishes.for me normal is a no-no.having had period cramping every other month,natural birth pain was not for me.i have a 15mnth old now & already planning for another

I think the story exaggerated things a bit. I don't think a significant number of mothers freely choose to have CS. I think the great majority get it for genuine medical reasons.

Even so-called "elective" CS is rarely a free choice. If she had fibroids removed before the pregnancy, she could easily rapture the uterus while pushing. Also, if she had a fistula after the previous delivery she can cause irreparable damage while pushing.

Still; I do agree that normal delivery is safest. Our doctor once quipped that 95% of women will deliver the baby normally and safely without any assistance from anybody - not even a mid-wife!

He also doesn't support the use of epidural anesthetic. His argument is that while this eliminates the pain, the recovery usually takes very long...most mothers can't walk for several months after normal delivery with epidural.

...Hujui Paka ako na politics!!!

CS is not all bad, especially if it saves your baby from distress. Whereas i am wary of choosing to have a CS, I am all for it for health reasons. I have two babies via CS.

First one was inevitable, the second because i had to have a CS due to the previous one.

I am normal, no funny pains and no issues. People should stop blowing the issue out of proportion.

The real trouble comes in when you have more that three CS operations.

Doctor's advice is good but you need to seek a second opinion or it must be a doctor you TRUST - with reason!

I know two private - the so called high end hospitals - with a CS rate three times the national average. And that is without counting the electives! Some hospitals encourage their doctors to recommend CS. In some cases, the doctors have a very funny 'relationship' with the hospital. A doctor you can swear is employed full time might be paid 'per job'. You can bet such a doctor will be cutting you up sooner than you can say blade. He might just end up pocketing quadruple what he would have if it was a natural delivery.

I know a friend who had taken his wife to one of the three top hospitals in Kenya. The doctors waited until she was alone and was getting contractions and then told her she needed emergency CS. She said she can't make such a decision without her hubby. At that point they decided to scare her some more. They told her any small delay and they DEFINITELY lose the baby and probably her. Even after talking to the hubby she insisted there is no way she was going to the theatre without seeing the hubby first. To cut a long story short, when the hubby got to the hospital an hour - give or take some minutes - later, she had already delivered. Naturally. No complications before, during or after. In retrospect, the lady realized that the doctors didn't seem to be in panic mode and didn't put any emergency response measures in place when it all started happening. They were playing her all along! The hospital has one of the scariest CS rate in Kenya. If you know two people who have delivered there, one of them most probably was through (non elective) CS!