Well after reading some of the opinions on the page I felt a bit hurt.

My first daughter was born naturally, and with many complications, after a extremely severe episiotomy and a blood transfusion my experience wasn't so called natural when i feel pregnant with my second daughter i was diagnosed with antenatal depression as i was severly stressed about the enevitable labour that i ended up asking for a caserean which they aloud me to have very grudgingly and  thankfully as Eboni was born a healthy 4500gms and she was healthier than my first daughter whose apgars were 1 and 8 and Eboni were 9 and 9

So yes i think a mother should should have the right to make an informed decission and without being told that it's the wrong thing to do.

If anyone asks me which was better i tell them a c section is the way to go and i stick to my opinion 

I had one natural delivery then I had a c/s with my second for various reasons then when that baby was sick we chose a c/s for our 3rd..

My 2nd son was NOT sick from the C/s he was sick from other things and I firmly believe if we hadn't have gone with t he Drs advice of a c/s our son would have died.  so that was our reason for an elective one 3rd time round

The Birthing and bifidobacterium infantis
Let us examine the bifidobacterium pathway. When an infant is born, normally (intravaginally), the infant picks up numerous bacteria including fecal bacteria in the birth process, most of these whilst essential to normal gut function, uncontrolled, can and do create havoc both within the gut and outside the gut. A common example is Candida Albicans  which, in the female, invades the vagina and is commonly known as thrush.  There is one other bacteria among all of these which is the control lactobaccilis. Bifidobacterium Infantis, the friendly Probiotic.

Under the influence of breastfeeding by day seven Bifidobactrium in a healthy infant  comprises 90% of the infants stool.. Now, if the infant is breast-fed for several months the bifidobacteria proliferates with the function of  improving digestion and immune status, manufacturing certain nutrients including, but not confined to:
 Biotin
 Choline
 Folic Acid
 Inositol
 Para Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA)
 Vitamin B2
 Vitamin B5
 Vitamin B6
 Vitamin K)

and importantly controlling the detrimental bacteria, which if uncontrolled, proliferate and in time eat away at the mucosal lining of the gut with the consequence of a hyper-permeable gut lining "Leaky Gut". If an infant is born via caesarian section or  not breast fed there will not be enough friendly bacteria to control the unfriendly bacteria with consequent proliferation and penetration of any body tissue causing inflammation and/or pain.

A common example might be infant eczema. In addition of course antibiotics, the most over-prescribed medication on  this planet, will destroy much of the friendly bacteria, especially acidophilus located in the small intestine.

Interestingly, mothers of today do not have near the amount of bifidobacterium in the birth process that their grandmothers had a few decades ago. A recent Danish study could not find any bifidobacteriun in infants born in a Danish hospital over a twelve month period.  This due no doubt to the modern diet and life-style.

Bifidobaceria thrive on what are called Fructooligosaccharides (FOS). Best sources of FOS are banana, onion, garlic and tomatoes. But easy on th banana which is rich in starch and high on the glycemic index.

Most infants and children's allergic and/or minor infectious episodes respond to intensive probiotic treatment. Bifidobacterium and acidophilus are very potent antibacterial/virus agents to which infectious bacteria cannot become resistant, unlike all antibiotics.

It is important to understand the need to reinnoculate following every antibiotic treatment plus a multivitamin supplement and avoid sugar-rich foods, white bread and other refined carbohydrates.

It is equally as important to use only refrigerated probiotic with billions not millions of bacteria. I recommend "Inner Health" in Australia and not to be taken with chlorinated water, which will destroy probiotics. Yogurt containing fruit is unlikely to contain many viable bacteria because like humans they love sugar and will have have killed themselves by consuming the fruit sugar (fructose). For more info on leaky gut etc:

http://health-care-aus.org

I would suspect that anyone opting for a C-section would have one as close to the delivery date as possible... I am sure the doctors would explain all the pro's and con's...  And the mother would have all the infomation given to her by doctors surely...  In the end really it all boils down to the mother gets to make the choice and if a C-section is what she wants then so be it..

 I don't personally agree with doing it this way. But who am I to judge what another person wants to do with their life....

I have had three c-sections, my first was due to a breech baby  the others were advised by doctors. I wish i had of gone for a natural labour after the first, but was advised against it, saying i had a high chance of tearing the first wound! I would have liked to give it a go, but to deliver my babies safely was more important, i couldn't risk it.

I'd just like to say, that i got to hold all my babies straight away, they had all their usual things done, like all babies and then they were given to me in recovery and wheeled with me back to my room. They all were breastfed, they were healthy and they were born safely. I recovered very well, never had any complications. I don't think that they are any worse off for it, they are growing into nice young ladies and my 9 month is the sweetest thing possible. It depends on how you bring them up, not how they were delivered!

I don't believe that mothers should go in just to have a c-section for no reason, just because they can't stand the thought of having a long labour. C-sections are very painful, uncomfortable and all over yuck!! And, it takes forvever to lose the weight! Some mums can do it, others can't, and that's all it boils down to!

I had two emergency c-sections and with my third I elected to have one on my Doc's advice, it took 6 weeks to get over, so although I really dont think anyone should be told whether they can elect to have one or not, if you can deliver naturally why wouldn't you give it a go.  As for the baby been delivered early I went into hospital on his due date, three of my girlfriends had c-secs and their babies were all born 1 to 2 days before their due date.  Is it worse off for the baby no of course not, its actually a lot less trauma than a lot of natural births.

Personally, I don't think women should be asking for c-section. I think it should be a matter left to the doctor and the situation.

That said, I didn't think elective c-sections are covered by insurance. Is it? I know the insurance will cover it if there has been a previous c-section...but to just walk in to the hospital and say, "I want a c-section"? And if it isn't covered and the woman still wants it, I guess that's really really wanting it. According to my hospital bill, if I were to have paid for my c-section, it would have cost my husband and I $16,000.00.