The safety of C-sections?

Danielle Bean is having an interesting discussion on her blog about C-sections and large families. This particular comment caught my eye:

I agree with the other posters that you have to trust your doctor and his/her advise. It’s not only about what you want, but about delivering a healthy baby and being around to take care of that baby.

When did American women come to the conclusion that being cut open like a fillet of fish somehow guaranteed delivering a health baby and ensuring that you would be around to take care of it!

Cesarean sections inherently have a higher mortality rates than vaginal birth. They aren’t as spectacularly advertised as a failed home birth, (and I often wonder why not although I suspect the hospital insurance and legal teams might have something to do with that), but they exist. See here , here, and here for examples.

I also don’t necessarily think it is the best advice to “trust your doctor.” In 2007 I think you have to be your own health care consumer advocate. That means becoming educated and even shopping around. That just makes sense in this highly charged litiginous society we live in today.