Natural Birth Vs. Caesarian Section

In the spirit of the greatest debate of the year in our country (i.e. the General Elections 2011), MadPsychMum at the University of Motherhood shall debate something closer to our hearts:

"Delivery: Natural vaginal birth or Caesarian section?"

It used to be that you couldn't choose the latter but medical advancement has made C-sections less risky and is now an alternative option for mothers with more difficult or unusual pregnancies. The trend nowadays is people choosing to deliver their baby via C-section for various reasons that may not be medical.

This is a question that most mothers-to-be have to contend with when they are making plans for the birth of their child/children. The debate has been going on for ages but was recently brought to my mind during a little conversation with Baby N's mum E and the hubby's university friend M at one of our meetings on a Saturday night. As usual I'm pro-organic/au naturel (unless you're talking about epidural, which is a MUST!), so I was pushing for vaginal delivery while E was all for C-section. Both has its pros and cons of course but the conversation led me to go and read up more so as to give you a more objective understanding of both which would then allow you to make your own personal decision.

Vaginal vs. Caesarian Section

Note: *Episiotomy = procedure in which the skin between the vagina and anus is cut.
** NICU = Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Personally, I chose to go with the best of both worlds (you can read my girl's birth story for more details).

I do realise that sometimes ideal is not reality and try as you might, vaginal delivery is just not possible. For example, if your baby is too big (i.e. heavier than 4kg) or if you have a high risk pregnancy (e.g. having multiples), your doctor is likely to recommend Caesarian section as the safer option. And on this, I totally agree (can't imagine having to push two or three babies out of my you-know-where!).

So don't get me wrong, I'm not against C-section. Rather, I'm more for making your own calculated decision after you've weighed the pros and cons.

Please don't let factors like 'choosing a nice birthday for your baby' or 'my doctor highly recommends it as it will save him time and hassle' be the reason that you choose a riskier procedure.

Natural birth is really not as scary as people think. It just requires more patience and a little epidural *laughs*

So, what was your delivery like? Perhaps you would like to add to the pros or cons of either based on your own experience? I welcome your input :)

P.S. This post was also featured on MumCentre Singapore.