Two Sleepy Mommies post links to a discussion on a topic near and dear to my heart - the move towards elective (not medically indicated) Cesarean sections. I have a lot to say on this, but I am sleepy and have to work tomorrow. I will make one comment right now, though.
In the 1970s and afterwards, the country of Brazil had the world's highest Cesarean rate. The overall rate was estimated to be 75% of all births. Since normal birth was still the usual method for the poor and rural folks, this meant that the cesarean rate among the well to do and city dwellers was closer to 100%. In my current practice I see lots of women from Brazil. The majority of those who have had babies, whether in the last few years or 30 years ago, had cesareans. Many of the older women had cesareans because they could have their tubes tied or a hysterectomy afterwards. It was very much part of a culture that denied the procreative part of femininity while accentuating the sexual pleasure (for their husbands?) aspect. Comments I heard were along the lines of "I wanted to stay tight for my husband" and "It was easier to set a day and get it over with". What I find really interesting is the daughters of these women, often brought to the USA as children or teens, are rebelling against their mothers and culture by demanding vaginal births.
