Caesarean on maternal request

It is surprising to read that women are still being denied caesarean on request (O&G Magazine Vol 17 No 3 Spring 2015).

Elective caesarean is no riskier than attempted vaginal delivery, because every labour carries the possibility of the much riskier emergency caesarean. The cost argument doesn’t really stack up either-certainly there are six or seven staff in theatre, but the patient is usually in and out in an hour and 15 minutes, whereas a patient in labour requires attendance for 12–18 hours and, if she eventually needs an emergency caesarean, all those expensive personnel must, of course, be called in anyway.

Why are we behaving like this? Could it be that we are concocting quasi-scientific arguments against caesarean on request because we resent women usurping our hegemony?

A generation ago Australian women had to fight for rights to contraception and abortion – now it seems they must fight for caesarean rights!