Who cares how she has the baby?  1st time C-sections have almost outnumbered vaginal births.  It doesn't make her any less of a woman.  

And?  Have you experienced recovery from a C-section?  Much worse than vaginal.

She's not getting a special procedure by any means.

i know im gonna get slammed for this, but i think choosing a c-section for the convenience of it or because your afraid of the pain or tearing is really f'ing selfish. Pregnancy and child birth are SUPPOSED to change you and your body. Its a packaged deal.

sure the recovery for a c-section is worse, but it's not like shes gonna be lifting a finger within that time anyway.

Isn't this the norm for celebrity moms?  Otherwise, there would have to be two appointments in a busy schedule:  the birth, and then the tummy tuck. :-)

Oh well.  She's never had a baby before and she's very young.  On the other side of it, let's hope she's a great mom.

Actually, I had an emergency c-section and my recovery was very easy and very fast ... not everyone has a bad time. And my friend that delivered vaginally was suffering for much longer.

I agree w/ Maeby and Sassy.  I think people who think a C will be easier are delusional.  My friends who have C-sections have had much tougher/longer recovery periods than I.  It has nothing to do with being "more (or less) of a woman."  C's are more expensive (burden to all of us/the hospital) and almost always come with many more restrictions on the mother than a vag. birth.  I don't know any "regular" person who would opt for a C section.  Maybe it's different if you are a celeb and can get the C, the tummy tuck, limitless high power pain pills, the nanny, the nurse and the maid to see you thru the first six weeks....

I HAD to have a c-section w/ my 3rd child....I kept putting it off trying for the natural until my Dr said my baby was in danger...only then did I back down and say ok.  C's suck.  The recovery time is long, hard and painful.  Especially for us "normal" women who don't have 5 nannies, 2 chefs, a chauffer, and 2 maids !!  It is very invasive to the body and more complications arise, as it is a surgery.  

My personal choice would be natural every time!!  

Thats why its called natural...the baby comes when he/she is ready.  Not when you decide you've had enough.

I don't get why it matters WHY a woman has a C-section? And why is it anyone else's business how a person decides to give birth? It should be up to the woman how she gives birth and she shouldn't have to have reasons behind it, so long as she's not putting her child at risk. Yes, I know there are advantages to have a vaginal birth vs. C, but ultimately there are many performed every day and those kids grow up to be just as healthy as other kids so as long as you end up with a happy, healthy kid in the end - who cares? I don't like telling other women what they can and can't do with their bodies...

Oh, I hate this subject.  I have had two c-sections (the first an emergency for inquiring minds).   I ironically, I have never met a man who cared at all about exactly how my children exited my body and why and on and on.  Always women, always the pressure, always the judgement.  Enough already.  If she wants one, who cares, its not your uterus. Do you want someone questioning your birthing decisions?  A c-section isn't easy, and she will soon learn this.  Women who elect to have a cesarean the first time, without medical reason, are so few and far between.  Yet its fun to cling to those stories so we can all talk some crap about c-sections.  Lets lift natural child birth even higher (as if anyone would disagree its not the best, including myself) and re hash why c-sections suck, then we can all toss is some extra judgement for good measure.  Fun!

I agree with Sassy all the way.  And it makes me wonder, if she is indeed too scared to give birth maybe she wasn't really ready for motherhood.  Everyone gets nervous or apprehensive leading up the first birth but that is what epidurals are for!!!  

Sassy and Maeby all the way..... elective c sections are unnecessary and can often cause issues down the line! If it can happen the way it's supposed to then it should happen that way!

Well said, Amanda.  Just another thing for women to hold against each other, when we could be fighting for each other instead.

Amanda - I agree with you.  My point is that people should quit thinking that having a C is the "easy way."  Frankly, my youngest threatened to be a C (she was breech up until week 38) and I was frantic - just terrified!  Everything I've ever heard from "real" people indicates that vag. is easier and less painful.  I don't know that people are judging you or others who have needed (or even requested) C's.  I think we are just rather astonished that a person would think abdominal surgery would be a walk in the park!

Amanda and Lindsay are right on the money. It's no one's business but yours and your doctor's.

I also agree that people should not think of c-sections as the "easy" way out.  However, I think articles like these can "demonize" c-sections a little bit too.  Ooo, c-sections are hard and awful and just the worst.  Sure natural child birth is preferred, c-sections are difficult, but can there be a balance?  Can women just support one another?  Can we acknowledge that they are difficult but that some women need them and some women (very few) will chose them.  And stop with all the judgement?  In acknowledging they are difficult, can we also let women know that they are done every day, and they will get probably through it just fine, so everyone is not terrified of them?  Who does that help?   While it may not be most people's first choice, it can still be a good experience for mother and baby if it needs to be.  And women should be way more focused on supporting one another through it in a positive way then scaring the crap out of everyone.  I don't think that the lack of support is necessarily intentional.  There is just some extreme rhetoric on either side of the debate.  And I don't think anyone benefits from it.

I normally don't comment, but I just have to chime in and say that I had a totally elective C-section.  There was no medical need whatsoever for me to have it but it was what I wanted. My Dr. agreed and it was the best decision ever.  She came out healthy and just fine and my recovery was easy as pie.  

My body = My Choice!  

Hello, 1 in 5 people are infected with Herpes and they cannot deliver vaginally.  That is why c-section rates have gone up.  That is why she is having one.  You also cannot deliver vaginally if you have HPV, which a huge number of people have.  So more c-sections.  If everyone where faithful to one partner and used protection then the rates of c-sections would go down.  In order for insurance companies to pay for c-sections the OB has to state, truthfully,a medical reason fo the procedure.   In our porn pretend society everyone is getting STDs so c-section rates are rising dramtically.  If we got back to old morals and behaviors then we would have more natural births.

PS Hippygoth you are awesome!

Wow! I don't normally visit this site, but Jeez. I am having an "elective" c-section (in 10 days) because I fricken want one. Who cares what another woman does with her body? And it isn't only celebrities who are given the choice, normal people can usually request a c-section/induction if they so desire. As long as each woman educates herself about the possible risk of the procedure, why should anyone else care? Did I miss the memo that stated that a woman's "right to choose" only pertained to abortion?

I agree that everyone has a choice for their own body...my comment was that fear wasn't a good reason for electing for surgery over vag birth.  But then again, this is based on gossip and who knows what the real reason is.  Honestly, why is she even telling the press and/or her unreliable friends who spill the beans to press.

don't we read celebrity gossip just so that we can judge other people? it's nicer than being judgmental about real people, right? also, considering the amount of plastic surgery she's had, ashley simpson is probably very comfortable with elective surgery. personally, the thought of having my abdomen cut open terrifies me, but then i feel the same way about my nose or whatever it is that ashley simpson had done. i agree that if you support women freely choosing, for whatever reason, to abort, you can't logically fuss about women getting elective c-sections. but you CAN fuss about any decision that anyone with a press agent makes. if that's not okay with you, then you shouldn't ought to read celebrity gossip.

I had my son by emergency c-section.  One week after the surgery I was walking laps, two weeks after I was jogging, and 4 months after the surgery I ran a half marathon.  The C-section was much easier than I had been led to believe.  It's not always bad.  Yes, I was a runner before hand, but I had been on bed rest for months before I gave birth.  I will definetly have a c-section again with my next baby.  

If you want to get upset, get upset about the women who elect to have their babies several weeks early to avoid the wonderful things the last few weeks of pregnancy do to the body. Have you noticed how mose celebrity babies are around 6 pounds? There's so much research showing that babies born small and early struggle with a number of health issues.

That to me is a much bigger deal that opting to have a C-section. As long as it's an informed decision ...

I had one completely natural childbirth....no drugs whatsoever.  And two c-sections, once because I would NOT dialate, the other was an emergency.....

I'd do the c again any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Recovery for me, was quicker and I didn't have to wipe this way and that, and take a half hour in the bathroom when I had to pee.  And I only had 7 stitches due to a small tear.  

I understand I am probably not a member of the majority here.  But I can understand her being afraid.  

I don't think that a c-section is the answer, but if it is what she wants and her doctor is willing to do it, it is none of our business.

C-sections have their place - in emergent situations, or where there is a *real* physical/medical reason that mom cannot deliver baby vaginally.

C-sections carry inherent risks for both mom and baby.  It puts mom at risk for a host of issues such as bleeding and infection (far worse than from vaginal delivery), and puts baby at *very high* risk for respiratory distress, among other problems.  

Why would you purposely put your baby at risk if you didn't have to?  It's your baby for goodness sakes!

Why do we care?  Because babies have a tender place in many people's hearts.

Ricky Lake has a natural birth and makes a movie  that states actual facts about hospital vs. home births.  ACOG comes out with a statement about how homebirths are bad and they must nip this celebrity interference in the bud.  And yet we see celebrities getting elective C-sections very commonly, and ACOG is quiet.  Interesting.

The many c-sections in Hollywood are for one reason and one reason only: herpes.

That's not a joke.  THERE you have it.  The secret's out.

Nearly all of these people have C-sections are having them in order to NOT spread the virus to their newborns.

Humanity survived for hundreds--- no THOUSANDS of years delivering babies vaginally. There's less births than you think with "complications" that actually need a c-section.  The human body fares quite well with this natural event-- in fact, the female body was MADE to give birth.  SHOCKING stuff, I know.  Doctors just don't go around rationalizing performing c-sections for the reasons of "convenience" or "scheduling conflicts".

I'm sure you all shudder to think these beautiful, perfect people with perfect lives could have herpes outbreaks, but that's real life.