I was surprised that Ms. Hudepohl did not mention some of the more interesting benefits associated with vaginal birth. First of all, the squeezing of the baby through the birth canal primes the newborn's organs (like the lungs) and gets them ready for working outside the womb. This process also releases hormones in both the newborn and the mother -- none of which happens if the baby is cut from the body. The most substantial benefit, however, is the bonding time that mother and child experience immediately after birth. You can't do this if you are unconscious on an operating table.

I feel sorrow for those women who don't have to have a cesarean for medical reasons, but who are frightened into doing it or because their doctor feels like it will suit his/her plans. (I know a woman in New York whose doc suggested giving her a C-section because her due date is around his impending vacation!)

We are becoming slaves to medicine. We have taken one of the most beautiful things in the world and turned it into a bloody operation.

-- Noble Smith

As a physician assistant who is about to give birth at home with a midwife, I was struck by Dana Hudepohl's article.

Hudepohl fails to mention that the World Health Organization recommends a no greater than 15 percent cesarean rate in any country. This, because the complication rate is double for a cesarean -- even an elective one -- than for a vaginal birth. Our current rate is 26 percent and climbing.

My choice to have a home birth was also met with astonishment and judgment, so I can understand the position of these women who are "going it alone" in their choices. I believe, however, that it is our medical establishment (of which I am proudly a part) that is partly responsible for convincing women that they are not capable of handling the normal pain of labor and childbirth. In a way, it is the hallmark of a patriarchal society that convinces its females that we are not powerful enough to handle this process for which we are so uniquely designed.

It is my firm belief that our bodies are designed to create a labor and delivery that is not only tolerable, but rewarding. My friends who have had home birth say it was the most amazing thing they have ever done. You won't get that answer from a woman who's had an elective cesarean. If we were not designed to handle labor, our species would simply not be here after so many millennia of natural childbirth.

The answer is not in denying these women their right to choose a cesarean, but to create an environment in which every woman feels empowered to deliver naturally. We should all view cesareans as a necessary evil, and reserve them for emergencies. Ms. Hudepohl speaks of countries that have even higher rates of cesareans than we, but she doesn't mention countries like Holland, which has a 30 percent home-birth rate, a cesarean rate of below 10 percent, and currently ranks lowest in the world in perinatal morbidity and mortality. Compare that to the U.S., where we supposedly have the most sophisticated medical system in the world. Our perinatal morbidity and mortality rate ranks an abominable 20th.

Frankly, the data supports that natural childbirth is the safest and healthiest choice for mothers and babies. Rather than persecuting these women who choose elective C-sections, I would like to see our country move toward adopting more hospital support for natural childbirth and more obstetrical support for the same.

-- Megan Foss, PA-C

I'm appalled that Dana Hodepahl's article "Cut and Run" did not offer a single point of discussion about how an elective C-section might impact the baby.

There was no discussion about how anesthesia can impact a baby's breathing, or contribute to low Apgar scores. The baby is not benefiting from the natural stimulation and pressure that movement through the birth canal provides. Some babies may experience trouble breast-feeding due to anesthesia. While these can be accepted complications of C-sections that are medically necessary, there is no justification for leaving what's best for the baby out of the decision-making process for birthing plans.

Becoming a parent means that someone else's needs often have to take priority over your own.

-- Carol Maltby

In 2003 I gave birth to my son who weighed in at 9 lbs. 11 oz. The weighing in, however, came only after several terrifying minutes of resuscitation. During the end stages of my labor (yes, excruciating is an appropriate description), he was born a sad white-blue color and wasn't breathing. For no known reason, he had gone into distress just before I started trying to push him out.

The NICU doctors were able to bring back his breath, thank God, and now, at 15 months, he is a completely normal, thriving little boy.

Though the umbilical cord blood was apparently oxygenated enough to feed his brain during those five minutes before we heard him cry, it took several days, or even months, before we were pretty sure he hadn't suffered brain damage.

We are eternally grateful to have a healthy, lovely child now, but I do not want to, will not, go through those minutes again when we didn't know if he would survive. When I give birth to his sibling, I will have a C-section, for myself and for my baby.

-- Angie McCullagh

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