ec view The word 'natural' in relation to childbirth is very interesting in a developed country in the 21st century because what actually constitutes natural is debatable. Most women now give birth in a hospital with a 24-hour emergency operating theatre on standby, and the majority of vaginal deliveries involve some form of medical intervention. Therefore, we believe that the more appropriate term to use when making comparisons with elective cesarean delivery (and specifically, CDMR) is planned vaginal delivery (PVD).
 
Furthermore, the term 'unnatural' is sometimes used in a derogatory way to describe cesarean births, and we believe that choosing medical intervention from the outset is no less natural than relying on it when the outcome dictated by Mother Nature is undesirable.
 

UK NHS 2004-05 statistics: 48% of births are ‘normal deliveries' with no surgical intervention, use of instruments, induction, epidural or general anaesthetic 19.6% are induced (Table 1) 13% have an episiotomy (73,900 women)  (Table 17) 13.6% have an emergency cesarean (76,100 women)  (Table 3) 18.82% of vaginal deliveries are assisted by epidural or spinal anesthesia (Table 19) 11% are instrumental deliveries (Table 3) 24.9% of women who started labour in a midwife led unit were transferred due to complications

ec view In comparison to the success rate for 'normal deliveries' above, it is likely that the success rate of a planned CDMR far outweighs 48%. However, appropriate research must be carried out in order to prove this, since ACOG says that 'the burden of proof should fall on those who are advocates for a change in policy in support of elective cesarean delivery'.