As this is a topic close to my heart please be gentle with me
I think everyone's birth choices come down to how they feel about their own experiences, and whilst its nice to give advice until someone has been through birth themselves its really hard IMO to tell them what birth or labour is going to be like for them as every birth is individual. So if someone were to say to me I want a c/s I will try and offer them my advice on how to achieve (IMO) the most empowered c/s they can. I don't have a problem with the technique as such, as I know in most cases it saves lives. What I have a problem with is uninformed women being told they need a c/s when they don't, or uninformed women having unnecessary emerg c/s when they don't need it (I have been in both situations). A women should be allowed to choose the birth thats right for us, if that means she wants a c/s fantastic but if she wants a vag birth then thats fine too. I hate the fact that some Dr's make women feel that their bodies will or have in the past "failed" them and therefore the only way for them to birth their children is via a very serious medical procedure. I have plenty of friends who, due to their own personal reasons, would choose a c/s over a vb any day and I will support them. But I would never sit by and let me friend be pressured by a Dr to have a c/s when she doesn't want to and its not necessary. Not all ob's are like this. Please don't get me wrong, my 2nd ob with Seth was amazing. He truly believes that the cesarean rate is not a medical epidemic but a social one. Often its more convenient for mothers to have a c/s (which is fine) and other times its more convenient for the medical staff (which IMO is not fine).
So yes because of my own experiences I do often question a Dr's reasoning for a c/s but never do I question the mother because she can only work with her emotional stance on birth and the information given to her by her carer.
My personal belief for me, is that yes vaginal birth is better. Having had both I can honestly say the wonderful feelings I had after my birth with Seth were a lot stronger and happier than those feelings I had after Paris (although I have resolved this now and can see the beauty in both births). I hated the recovery time with the c/s, and I didn't really have much pain. I hated the stitches, I hate the fact that my tummy is now numb due to nerve damage (which is very common with C/S). I hated the fact that I needed help to breastfeed and even to pick up my baby for the first few days. I loved the experience with Seth, I loved being part of the process, I loved reaching down and picking my son up shortly after he birthed onto the bed, I loved having skin to skin contact straight away whilst the cord was still intact. I loved the fact that I was able to walk to the shower a few hours after birth (the delay was due to visitors otherwise I would have done it sooner LOL) and later that night when my room was ready I WALKED to my room pushing my son's crib all the way on my own with no assistance. A few days later I was having a massage in my hotel suite which I would not have been allowed to transfer to had I had a c/s. I could drive straight away and overall it was bliss!
I don't think its the procedure that really has a bad name, although like any major surgery it is risky and the risks IMO are moreso than that associated with natural birth, it is those that pressure their patients into unnecessary c/s or those that do not consider the intervention they do may lead to a c/s that have the bad name. I think C/S definitely has its place. It is a life saving technique and I personally just wish it was used for that more than out of convenience (not for the patient but the dr).
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