From Hester Mannion
It is still the general feeling in obstetric practice that a caesarean section poses certain risks to the mother but relatively few to the baby. However, choosing to surgically remove a baby from the uterus might carry with it some long-term problems. The baby misses out on the physiological environment created by natural labour: the complex cascade of hormonal events associated with the process of a contracting uterus and passage down the birth canal, as well as circulating oxytocin. As our understanding of epigenetics grows we could find a big impact.
We may find that the butterfly wingbeats of our personal choice leave our great-grandchildren weathering a hurricane. But by then, of course, it will be too late.
Swansea, UK
