Evidently I don't understand how the BB system works. Michael and Onyx, I am not being deliberately obtuse, I am genuinely interested/puzzled.

Michael, you have posted something about the intention of this forum as follows:


This forum is an area that aims to support women from two main groups - those women who, through medical necessity or genuine emergency, have been left with no choice other than to have a caesarean birth, and those women who have been persuaded to have a cesarean in the past and are coming to terms with the fact that this decision might have been a poor one.
If that's the case then I suggest that some notes are put into the forum similar to the ones listed in the Obstetrician section. If the section is not for women seeking information on an elective caesarean, then it would be helpful if that was explicit. Maybe there is another section specifically for that reason - I have to confess I haven't looked.

As I said before, however, my understanding is that Kelly is supportive of all birth choices because at the end of the day provided that women are informed, it is their body, their choice. Deciding whether women ARE informed and have or have not read the 'right' material is always going to be a little subjective. Obviously, if a woman comes in saying that she has been told by her plumber that caeaareans are better, she has not done her research but other cases may not be as clear.

Apart from research, women's feelings are always going to come into play and they are a valid part of the overall mix. As you may have guessed, I am veering towards having an elective caesarean myself. In my particular case there is evidence FOR it exacerbating my underlying health condition and evidence against. There is no clearcut evidence either way so I have to make a call. The people who are advising me to have a VB are the very same ones who told me that the condition would go away soon after my last vaginal birth. It didn't - it took 18 months so why would I believe them? And if the research is ambiguous, then the only thing I can rely on is my feelings. That's why I'm saying they are a valid part of the mix.

I guess I was just a little surprised that there wasn't a common party line/stance/whatever you want to call it on birth choices. If moderators don't necessarily agree with Kelly, that's fine - I just presumed that their posts would reflect what I've seen her write in the past. I learn something new every day.