Birth is birth.

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/why-love-c-section-scar-150400581.html

^ YES!

I have had two c sections, and I am DAMN proud of it.  I am so sick of the guilt and guilting that goes along with c section births.  To begin with, the way I gave birth does NOT affect you, unlike, say, the decision whether or not to vaccinate a child.  That decision happens to affect everyone in our society, so therefore, everyone is entitled to an opinion on your decision not to vaccinate.  Accept that, and move on.

Not that it matters, but both of my sections were life saving; the first was to save my daughter's life, and the second was because the doctor felt very strongly that I was a high risk for uterine rupture based on many factors, and according to the surgeon who did the procedure, he was absolutely right.  I would probably have blown like a geyser.

I will admit, I do regret not having had that moment of "Oh!  I'm in labor!"  Or that moment of "Push!  Push!"  But I am alive, and I have two healthy, beautiful little girls to show for it, so when women give me the pity face when they hear I had a couple of c sections, I just don't get it.

There are websites upon websites that are dedicated to helping women to "fight" against medical intervention during birth, and particularly against c sections.  They see c sections as unnecessary interventions performed by doctors who lose patience with the poor, long-laboring woman, and just haul off and slice that kid right out, to the eternal detriment of child and mother.  That DOES sound bad!  Oh my.  Either that, or they accuse women who've had c sections as lazy quitters who did it for vanity reasons.  Unless I am considering a career change, far more people are likely to see my stomach than my vagina, so there's that.

I'd like to know what fantasy-land these women are living in.  This is almost as bad as those wackadoos who talk about "birth rape."  Get over yourselves.  If you think you were "raped" by your birthing experience, I'd like to ask you quite seriously if you have ever really had anything bad happen to you, because it seems as though your definition of trauma is pretty fucked up.

I'd also like to point out that anything that happens to a woman in that birthing room is done with her consent.  They may feel like they were "bullied" into a section or an epidural, but nonetheless, it was done with their consent unless they were quite literally dying and the doctor did what needed to be done whether they liked it or not.  And even still, he probably tried damn hard to explain it to them and get consent before deciding that they were too addled from the dying and getting the consent from the father or partner.

But I digress.  Two c sections, a healthy mama and two healthy babies.  Why would anyone judge that?  Why am I to be pitied?  I really want to know.  Why would anyone tell me that my daughter's near death experience was CAUSED by medicine, not solved by it?  Here's what I know.  Had I been stubborn and refused the section, my daughter would be dead.  She was blue and it took about 5 minutes for them to get her breathing on her own.  Had I refused the second section, I'd probably be dead, likely along with my daughter unless someone was able to rush me to an OR and get her cut out in time.

Do I think that there are too many sections happening in this country?  Yes, probably.  But I also think that it is none of my business.  It doesn't affect me.  We can play the trickle down game and say that it affects me because of insurance deductibles and blah blah blah, but that money all ends up back in the economy in one way or another, so I don't buy that argument.  If, at the end of each birth, there is a healthy mama and baby, it isn't my business.