Terri: Wow...what an awesome and comprehensive resource you have assembled. I look forward to exploring it further.
Rebecca: Firstly let me congratulate you on a fantastic website... Your site has given me a glimmer of hope, and the realisation that there are people supportive of Ec's.
Claire: Thank you so much. I have a son who was born via a planned c-section, and I have been dying to get my hands on more information about the long-term effects on his health. I wish I had known about this site 7 1/2 months ago (before he was born). Thanks again for all of your help.
Diana: I have just managed to register, and may I say thank you for setting up a website that doesn't try to make me feel guilty over the choice I made... it is comforting to know that there are others out there who agree with me about getting an elective c-section.

Nicola: I looked at this website when I very first fell pregnant. Terrified of the thought of having a natural delivery, I knew exactly how I wanted to give birth. I had a planned CS just 3 weeks ago.  From my very first visit to my consultant I knew when the delivery date and time was and my husband and I happily prepared for the day.  A text book pregnancy and a perfect CS delivery provided us with the most amazing experience with very kind medical staff, who did not consider my decision for a CS at all strange and shared our joy as our beautiful baby boy arrived. My experience over the 9 months was probably near perfect due to me being lucky enough to go private. My husband supported my decision for a CS from the very beginning, but having had a very negative response early on from NHS GPs and my previous NHS gynaecologist when I mentioned my terror of natural childbirth, (and the suggestion that I should see a counsellor!) we decided to take the major step of pursuing private care. The cost was in fact the equivalent of hiring a private midwife who is guaranteed to stay with you through labour to delivery - not too much we felt but certainly it was the best investment we have ever made. Our obstetrician was very happy to carry out a CS.  Every visit to him was a joy as I had no fear of what was ahead and if this is the one child we have in our lives then we are so very glad we did it this way. I am making a fantastic recovery - I really only had 2 days of pain in the hospital and this was softened by very good medication. It was the best decision I made and I would do it all again exactly the same.
Ariella: Thanks for this wonderful website! What a Godsend. I couldn't believe it when I found a website this comprehensive on this topic - it is exactly what I was looking for and did not think I'd ever find. I hope this site goes from strength to strength...

JB: I had an elective CS in July 2006. My doctor was supportive of my choice. It was a very good experience. I experienced pain for about 5 days but it was manageable and I have a very low pain tolerance. I was glad to get the extra time in the hospital as having the nurses around to take care of the baby was great! This gave us extra time to learn how to care for the baby and to get lots of help with breastfeeding. I am very happy with my decision to have a CS and would not change my mind if I had it to do over again. I hope people will change their attitudes towards CS or at least keep their opinions to themselves - the only downside to the whole experience was people's bad attitudes and negativity towards my choice of having a CS.
Viki: Just checked out your website and was really impressed.  It's so thorough and professional as well as informative. Could have done with a website like yours when I was having a cs, instead of all the scary leaflets I was given!! Well done and congratulations.
Rachel: I'm 26 and gave birth to my first child in November 2003. I had planned a homebirth and went as far as to have an independent midwife to help me achieve my dream of a beautiful birth. My first stage went very well, I laboured at home for 6hrs, felt relaxed and baby was in a very good position the whole time. But after a while I needed a hospital transfer due to very bad back pain. After a 6 hour second stage in hospital, an episiotomy and 3 degree tears, my bouncing boy was born by forceps. My heart was broken, my body felt twice as bad and I had no feelings of love towards my son for some time. I became pregnant with my second child in August 2005 and decided to have a CS in the hope of finding a peaceful and loving birth I could cherish. And what I experienced 3 days ago was more then what I could have asked for. It was the most moving, loving, friendly and peaceful experience I could have asked for. The doctors, the midwives, and all the staff helped me enjoy my birth to the full. After I had my son, I couldn't stand and walk for nearly 3 weeks, but with this birth I've been up and about after 24 hours and yes, the painkillers do help, but my word do I feel 1,000,000 times better them I did the first time round. I'm not saying CS are for everyone, and I do personally believe that babies are naturally meant to come out of the mother vaginally. I also know that there are some real horror stories about CS births, but I also feel people forget that there are some horror stories of natural delivery too, and I feel that women should be taken very seriously about their personal stories. Doctors seem readily available to help women achieve wonderful VBACs, which is brilliant, but people should also be showing women who have had traumatic vaginal births that there is another way for them too.
Veri: I live in Portland, Oregon and I am 25 weeks pregnant. I have done extensive research on this issue and cannot understand why anyone would deliver vaginally when given the option. I am hoping for a referral to a nearby physician who is open to elective CS. I am having difficultly finding many people with an open mind who aren't overly brainwashed about the primitive and backward practice of 'natural' childbirth. For all the women choosing elective CS, I commend you for being true Women's Rights advocates. Going against the grain is difficult. Unfortunately the average IQ is in the double digits and common sense is sparse. The U.S. is built on ignorance and most women are victims of television and media. Worse, most women are victims of the silent brainwashing of our culture. The brainwashing that makes them ashamed and afraid. The brainwashing that confuses them and discourages any true form of thought. Much of this issue is rooted in gender brainwashing. If men gave birth, the art of the CS would have been perfected centuries ago. Otherwise we would be disappearing more quickly than pandas (not based on the pain; based on the long term repercussions of vaginal birth). This site is the first attempt at opening communication and offering help to those forward thinkers who contemplate elective CS. Vaginal birth is indeed beautiful for those women who truly desire it. For those who have researched and educated themselves on the lifelong complications that they are unwilling to endure needlessly, thankfully we are living in an age of accelerated knowledge where alternatives are available. It is our job - one by one - to take a stand for the future of women. Fight the resistance so that our daughters may not face the same bias, ignorance, brainwashing and SILENCE that has suppressed our gender since the age of old. A note to the critics: this site is not perfect. If there is such rapid criticism of this site, then a new one should be created by the critics... As a last note: There is a tremendous difference between the risks associated with planned vs. emergency CS. Truly explore the issue by keeping this fact ever-present. Thank you for keeping an open mind and a loving heart.

Karen: I am ‘attending' the [NIH] conference via webcast. I am a Maternal-Child Health professional (nurse, childbirth educator and lactation consultant). I sense that you are sitting among an audience of birth advocates who are very much against CS on maternal request (CDMR). I agree with your comments completely and wish, as well, that there were more birth advocates out there who could see the bigger picture of allowing women to make their own, informed decisions. Thank you for being my voice at the conference!
Kath: I was very heartened to hear of this website. I have put off having a child because of my fear of childbirth and am now trying to get permission for an elective caesarean before it is too late - though it seems prevailing opinion is against me. So, I could really do with a site like this for info and maybe to give us a bit of heart.

Katherine: I just wanted to tell you that this site is awesome! You have put a lot of work and effort into something you are passionate about and that inspires me and many others to make a stand on other important issues! Thank you!
Charlotte: Great site, thanks.

Lisa: About time! I came across a reference to your website via an article in the Guardian. I will be forwarding both the article and this site address to friends. I gave birth by elective c-section 8 weeks ago, which was a most positive experience. I was, however, dismayed by the aggressive and outraged attitude of both professionals and non-professionals toward my decision to elect a c-section. The disapproval I encountered from people was seldom supported by facts or reliable data. I made my decision to have a c-section despite all the negativity and finger-wagging going on about me. I am so glad that this site exists, and I hope that reliable data will populate it, in order to give women the opportunity to make an informed decision about the way in which they would like to give birth to their children.