I would like to thank Tiffanie for writing this article.

My baby was due at the end of September, after going 10 days overdue I went into labour. Progress was very slow and 30 hours later (with the help of the oxytocin drip) I was fully dilated. After pushing for an hour with no sign of a baby the doctor was called. My baby was also wedged at an awkward angle and after a failed ventouse attempt, my daughter was delivered by emergency caesarean section.

The caesarean is not a pleasant experience and certainly not an "easy" option but I have recovered well and have a beautiful healthy daughter. I am well aware that without the caesarean, it is doubtful either of us would be here.

The article was a positive insight about this operation and stated the very clear fact that caeasareans save lives. Thank you Tiffanie

Rebecca Rawlinson, Preston,

As a mother of three children all born by c-section , the 1st and 3rd emergencies, and 2nd an elective, i too am thankful that we have the technology and medical knowledge that allows us to have safe surgical births. As an Antenatal Teacher for the NCT, and at the age of 26 having been part of the NCT for almost four years i don't have a hairy face. In previous years i was a model. The author of this artical was making a very insulting gesture to teachers, this is childish and inmature school yard tactics! In my classes we discuss what interventions may be offered and why. We also talk about the positives and negatives of what may happen if these interventions are accepted. As with every other teacher out there we discuss c-sections again talking about their positives and negatives. It is about making an informed choice based on the evedience based knowledge that they get by coming to classes. Maybe the author would like to observe a course? Your welcome at mine

Mrs Emma Jackson, Carterton, Oxfordshire, UK

I too had placenta praevia and when the diagnosis was made at about 32 weeks I had a moment of disappointment that I would not be able to give birth naturally. This was quickly replaced by a profound feeling of thanks that I was in a developed country, with access to all the technology that allowed me to give birth to my son and to be alive to tell the tale.

Barbara, Adelaide, Australia

After delivering two large children naturally I will have to undergo surgery for a prolapsed bladder in the future. As I will be older this surgery is more likely to fail and recovery will be more difficult. My bladder is now weak and no amout of pelvic floor exercises seems to help. Knowing the state of my body now I would have have opted for a C section. I do not understand the fuss over how a baby is delivered, as long as the baby is healthy, that should be all that matters. We seem to forget that before modern medicine and C sections women frequently died in childbirth.

Karen, Amsterdam, Netherlands

"Little did I know then that half of all inductions end in emergency caesareans, mainly because chemically induced labour is stronger, longer and harder"

Had Ms Darke actually attended NCT classes she would have been very well aware of this fact as medical help in labour is covered in a very balanced way. She would have also been given help in understanding and questioning whether induction was the best option for her.

My NCT classes teach about Caesarian section and point out that we are fortunate to have access to safe surgical birth for those women who need it. Unfortunately medical intervention such as induction may result in women having a section which would not have been necessary had they gone into labour spontaneously.

Please do not tar NCT with this brush - we are about choice and support for parents whatever their experience of birth. Putting women off in this way may be preventing them from accessing valuable support and information.

Jo Ball, Ulverston, Cumbria

Thank Goodness!! Finally an article representing the large number of us who have had to have sections through necessity rather than vanity. My first son was born after two days of labour,they tried everything to get him out. As I lay there exhausted and scared at 23 years old, crying as I signed the consent form, all that mattered was a safe delivery. It turns out I have a damaged coccyx and cannot give birth naturally. This was only discovered after a later x-ray. I have had two subsequent sections and can assure anyone who thinks its an easy way out that it most certainly isn't. I would love to have given birth naturally and have the most terrible 'skin pouch' where my stomach was ruined by three in five years. I can never wear a bikini or show my stomach in public. The only option is cosmetic surgery but I can't face being cut open again. There is a difference in women who choose a section for convenience over us whose children would be either dead or brain damaged.

Sarah Kelly, Bishops Stortford, UK

Both my daughters were born via C section thirty or so years ago. Things don't seem to have moved on since that time, as far as the stigma attached to the C word is concerned. I had a placenta praeva with both pregnancies, and would not be here to tell the tale, or have had my daughters, without caesareans.

Jan Laidlaw, Geelong, Australia

I agree wholeheartly. My son was also wedged at an awkward angle and his heart rate dipped alarmingly as I struggled on and on with labour. With surgical intervention we are both happy and healthy, without the outcome would have been disastrous. I see no downside and have never for one moment felt a failure, I just feel lucky.

jane, london , uk

I could have written this article myself! Even down to the dates: my son was due the end of last October and was born on the 7th November after a 36 hour labour. The only difference is I was lucky in that my labour culminated in a successful ventouse delivery. I too had naively planned for minimal pain relief and ended up desperate for an epidural. Had I required a caesarean I would have happily agreed. The truth is that each labour is different in duration and pain, and the stigma attached to the C-section is undeserved.

Hilary Smith, Egham, UK

I have never understood the fuss about natural childbirth - the ultimate aim is a healthy baby and a healthy mother. I too had to have a caesarean (after 2 days of labour) and have never felt a failure. I had no problems breast-feeding afterwards, and recovered far more quickly than another friend who insisted on a natural birth (and couldn't sit down without a cushion for 6 mths). People forget that many women and babies used to die in childbirth.

annie, glasgow,

Having experienced both a vaginal (natural doesn't come into it!) & a caesarean, I feel it is time that it was openly appreciated that having a caesarean is not a decision taken lightly by the majority of mothers. My first child was born after a protracted delivery. I ended up asking for an epidural as I was vomiting frequently and having attacks of the shakes - the epidural was an attempt to conserve my energy, everything slowed down, oxytocin drip, a big head that wasn't going anywhere and a ventouse later and our son was born. The aftereffects of the stitching left me with other problems which I didn't even mention to my midwife until was 34 weeks pregnant with my daughter. Suddenly the option of a c-section was raised, because there was concern that further damage might be very difficult to put right. I'm extremely glad she was born by c-section, I got over the birth far more quickly, and don't face the prospect of restorative surgery where the sun doesn't shine!

Lucy, Perth, Scotland

Hi, I am sorry that Tiffanie Darke has had such a birth experience. Also that she has felt the need to debrief in public. If she had attended NCT classes she would have been able to explore induction and the 'cascade of intervention', whereby one intervention in hospital can lead to another, and another, so she would have been better placed to make an informed decision about the alternatives of induction or a wait-and-see option, if the heatlh of her/her baby was not compromised at the time.

The NCT has many support groups for all parents, e.g for those who have had a caesarean birth or premature babies, plus an experience register which offers parents the opportunity to talk to others who have had experiences whether good or bad.

As far as being hairy-faced, as an NCT teacher I would never make any such judgements about my clients so it woudl be good if she could respect individuality and not make personal remarks, because it devalues the rest of her arguments.

Barb, Hampshore, UK

Tiffanie Darke obviously had a traumatic time giving birth and is using the article to debrief herexperience. Hopefully it will enable her to move on from
being angry with
those people whose job it is to encourage women to believe in their bodies and themselves. We are constantly hearing negative stories about birth in the press but at least 40 % of women have a straightforward birth, however, we never hear their birth stories, the ones in which they feel thrilled and empowered.

I am full of sympathy for Tiffanie Darke but it is certainly not midwives, the NCT or alternative practioners that are responsible for making women feel guilty for having had a caesarean - I can only conclude that it must be the press!

anne Haworth, london, UK