I think what was so great for me having a c-s was that I knew for months and months and months that this was how he was going to be born (I remember the midwife saying 'Aren't you going to cry?', when she said I would need a cs. I was really surprised by that). Frankly, I loathe surprises, hate struggling, & would regard entering the London Marathon/bunjee jumping/mountain climbing and even running for a bus as the very height of lunacy, so it was perfect for me. When I was diagnosed with PP, a friend said, 'You mean, there's a disorder that means you can't take exercise, have to sit about and have a c-s? Did they invent it for you?' . This means I had plenty of time to think about it, was completely happy about it and ended up believing I had the very creme de la creme of births and would find it hard to consider anything else. My experience of trying to sleep on labour wards listening to the primal screams of women in labour just convinced me that I was going down the right route for me. I would be smug if it was appropriate, but I guess it's not. Pleased, though. I have, however, tried not to proselytise to pregnant friends, even ones who wanted a c-s and specifically asked if I recommended one. I have always said to them that it was right for me, I liked it, I recovered very quickly but it might not be right for them for various reasons and they might not be so lucky in their experience. I suppose what I am trying to say is that what was right for me, clearly isn't everyone's choice. I just wish that courtesy was more commonly expressed the other way round. Sorry if that sounds confrontational, but natural childbirth really, truly isn't always a good thing for other people. And saying it is (honestly, nobody accused here) can make other people feel that the most wonderful, peak experience of their lives - creating and producing their fabulous baby - was somehow a second rate, inferior, even worthless experience. This is depressing. It is like, I imagine, crossing the line after running the whole of the London Marathon, and having people standing there saying, 'That was rubbish because you had training shoes. That's just taking the easy way out. You should have run it barefoot." Or, "You were really slow and had to stop for a stitch and drink water. I did it without and was twice as fast.' I truly and honestly think that other people's attitudes are one of the reasons why women who have unplanned cs etc etc sometimes feel depressed about it. It is undermining to hear only good things about natural birth and only bad things about cs or epidurals. I remember giggling at a R4 debate about birth with a natural birth enthusiast going on about relaxing to conquer pain, and an obstetrician saying that 'actually, some women find an epidural rather relaxing'. I also remember a woman with fragile, small for date twins sobbing and sobbing and getting so angry when she was recommended to have a cs for their safety. I did wonder if she had forgotten that birth is just a process by which we get to hold our babies, not an end in itself. When I was told a cs was the only safe way to get my ds out, I thought, 'great'. Oddly enough, I didn't go into my pregnancy planning a cs at all, but when it came to my baby's safety, I didn't think twice.