Cesarean Sections are a sensitive, and somewhat controversial topic dependent on who you talk to. For some mothers, it was a life saving surgery to save them and their baby made at the last minute. For others, it was a choice for various reasons they decided to not have a natural labor (medical or personal, it was their choice).
For professionals, ob/gyns spend a lot of their training on learning to open a mother and get baby out in under 15 minutes for emergencies. And for other professionals like midwives, C-sections are to be avoided at all cost unless an emergency. In the United States, a third of babies are born by surgery. From a philosophical standpoint, it means it’s another way to be born.
There is no right or wrong answer to if you should look into a C-section if you follow the BRAIN assessment or another rational way of thinking this hard decision through (See my blog post on how I made a hard decision). BRAIN is an acronym for finding what is the best, informative decision you can make for yourself and baby.
B– Benefits
R– Risks
A– Alternatives
I– Intuition
N– Negotiation
By using the BRAIN acronym not only for C-section but for other childbirth interventions, you can be a powerful, confident mother in knowing yourself, knowing the pros and cons, and knowing how to talk to your healthcare providers constructively so that you both can reach a decision that balances your healthcare needs and rights as a human with the capabilities to choose your birth as best as possible.
