electivecesarean.com has been created by writer and former BBC journalist Pauline McDonagh Hull, who believes that we can only make an informed choice about our birth if we are provided with the information to make that choice. Pauline says: I am not advocating elective cesareans in every delivery, but equally, I am challenging the assumption that vaginal birth is the best and safest first choice for all women. My goal is to dispel many of the myths surrounding maternal request and elective cesareans, and to provide a positive environment for women (and men) who feel confident about researching the facts and discussing their personal preferences with an obstetrician or midwife. I strongly believe that it is your baby, your body and your choice, and that for low risk, healthy women, an elective cesarean is a legitimate delivery choice to make. As an educated woman who has carefully considered all the risks, I want to take advantage of the developments in modern technology and would personally opt to have a CDMR as my birth plan of choice.'

Dr Ralph W Hale, MD, FACOG: 'Elective cesarean delivery has become a reality in the practice of obstetrics today as more and more of the women who approach delivery have strong feelings that the option of the mode of delivery should be their decision to make unless there are compelling medical indications for a specific delivery method. Their reasons will vary from woman to woman, but whatever decision she may make, the patient needs to know all of the available risks and benefits. This website will help explain some of the confusion surrounding the choice of elective cesarean delivery so the patient is better able to discuss this option, if she desires an elective cesarean, with her obstetrician or midwife.'

UK Birth Trauma Association: 'Women receive a great deal of information about childbirth. How women interpret this information is a complex process. What is clear is that we need to focus on the needs of the individual and respect personal decision making. Just as there are women who are happy with homebirth and waterbirth so there are also many women who are happy with their decision to have an elective cesarean. No choice should be presented as the 'right' choice and no choice should be stigmatised. ec provides a unique source of information for women who want to consider cesarean or who want to explore all the options before arriving at their own personal decision.'

2002 AIMS Journal: 'Since the dawn of time labour and birth through the vaginal passage have been an inevitable consequence of pregnancy, a journey through life. There was no alternative to vaginal birth, except death. In this new millennium, women do have an alternative, one that has been provided by the wonders of modern technology - women today have choice, something that women in ages past did not have.’ ec note The article concludes: 'There are many very good reasons for having a cesarean and with a little forethought and planning the operation can indeed be a wonderful experience. There is also no denying that a positive cesarean is infinitely preferable to a traumatic vaginal delivery. But what too many have lost sight of, is that even the best cesarean can never hold a candle to a good experience of giving birth to your baby yourself. ec view We disagree with this last point. We believe that each individual woman should be entitled to make her own birth choice, and that neither vaginal delivery nor cesarean delivery should be elevated to a superior status. The best experiences result from positive outcomes for both mother and baby, regardless of delivery method.

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