What If I Have a C-Section?

An award-winning health writer answers all the questions a pregnant mom may have about this increasingly performed procedure-now used in nearly one in every four births

Thirty years ago, 1 in 20 babies was born by a c-section. Today that number has swelled to almost 1 in 4. Yet despite the steep rise in C-sections, there are very few books available to help moms-to-be sort out their options, allay their fears, and navigate their way through this serious and emotionally complex procedure.

Rita Rubin, USA Today's medical reporter, tells women:
- The main reason Cesareans are performed
- Exactly what the procedure entails
- How to communicate with their doctors-to insure the birth experience they want
- Strategies that will help them recover from the surgery quickly and relatively painlessly
- How to decide whether to have an elective C-section-and how to cope should surgery be medically necessary
- How to sort out the controversy about VBAC-Vaginal Birth After C-section

Whether the reader is considering choosing an elective C-section, worrying about what she will face should she need one, or recovering in the days after her delivery, she'll find the facts in this unbiased, authoritative, reassuring guide-along with steps she can take to make the birth of her child the healthiest, most joyous occasion possible.