“She was accused of being too posh to push, like many a celebrity mother before her.

But Christina Aguilera has revealed the real reason why she had her son by Max by Caesarean section.

The singer admitted that she was terrified of giving birth naturally.

Miss Aguilera told Hello! magazine: “I’d heard horror stories about tearing. I really wanted a calm and peaceful environment. I didn’t want any surprises.”

I believe what our society is truly suffering from is an unclear set of definitions around birth. Go to this thread at Mothering to read some amazing stories about vaginal birth trauma and what the various mothers did to heal it.
“Naturally” as defined by Christina has come to mean anything not related to a C-section.
This would include multiple layers of Birth Rape and Vaginal Cesarean, plus the “managed” directing of second stage (pushing).

I have known plenty of women who have experienced both c-section and birth rape and all of them agreed they far preferred recovering from the belly wound. For that reason I don’t blame Ms. Aguilera or any woman who chooses a section over a medically managed vaginal birth.
Frankly it is why I chose to have my section. After twenty hours of labor I went in to the hospital and upon confirmation that she was breech (my doc had suspected she was, but I would not let her do an ultrasound before labor started), I was given the option to have a section or an attempted version, which meant they would give me drugs to stop my labor and relax my uterus, attempt the version, and then give me more drugs to start my labor again and then push my 8 pound daughter out.
If the version wasn’t possible, I would still probably have a section, and if I insisted on birthing her breech vaginally, (Not giving consent to the section) there was a strong possibility that I would get a four way episiotomy and have tons of vaginal damage. I spent three hours praying, weighing everything, and decided to have the section. I was exhausted and the surgery felt like the right answer in the moment.
I believe every woman should educate herself about the various ways she can protect her bottom from knives, pusing on her back, forceps, vacuum extraction etc. The first step would be to not have those tools anywhere around your body while you are giving birth.

Allison did not have any lasting effects from the surgery, I was able to breastfeed her on demand for 4 and 1/2 years, and today she is a beautiful and talented 16 year old.

Allison in kindergarten.
In this day and time it is a miracle that I have given birth five times and except for one c-section scar, have not had an episiotomy or any life altering damage to my body. Carefully choosing health care providers who supported my choices, no epidural so I could move around freely, and for my two hospital births, being able to push at the squat bar for hours while pushing on the birthing bed was the key to protecting my cervix and perineum from permanent damage.

Allison with her little brother Ben and our dog Sammy
It was so silly after my first UC, when we transfered to the hospital for help after the birth, the ER doctor was so convinced that my cervix had torn while I pushed out that eleven pound child, it was all he could think about, checking to see if my butt was all tore up. He and the rest of the staff were shocked to see that not only was my body fully in tact, but I had no hemorrhoids, and did not even have a skid mark on my birth canal. I have read about women who have had fourth degree episiotomies, tearing through to the rectum, and after birth fistulas only birthing five to seven pounders.

Jenny with 11 pound Andrew three weeks after the birth – I had NO Perineal pain after the birth…did not even take an asperin. Four efficient squatting pushes, a well nourished mother, and LISTENING to my body got that kid out of my womb. If the doctors had tried to cut him out, either through my belly or my vagina, it would have been a travesty of nature. Granted, I did almost die from after birth bleeding (My liver and gall bladder were very toxic) and I spent six years intensively cleansing my liver before we conceived our next child, who I birthed alone at home without any excessive bleeding.
Just the same, I am grateful to have made it through Andys birth with a healthy child, an alive me, and JUST AS IMPORTANTLY my body in tact.
Some women may think the first two things are all that count, and its for darn certain the medical profession thinks mom and baby alive after partuition are the only thing that matters.
But I enjoy my intimate life with my husband, and think it is ridiculous that mothers have to choose either or. You either have a surgical wound somewhere on your body, or you don’t have children and keep your body “honeymoon fresh”. Nutsy! Weird! Wrong! and STUPID!!!
It is NOT the size of the child that is the problem for mothers, it is the way in which the birth is managed, especially second stage, that causes women to experience the terror that Christina expressed as her reason for using surgery for her birth.
To tell a woman who manages to make it through a Birth Rape alive and with an intact baby how fortunate she is to have been in the hospital where everything is safe and clean….yet she comes away from that birth never wanting her husband to touch her again, and she cannot enjoy sex again, and she does not want any more children, to tell her that she is LUCKY to have experienced the birth rape that saved her from the “pain of childbirth” is such a huge betrayal of trust and reason.
Reasonable people can understand why woman would say, “no thanks, I’ll take my chances at home” when the alternative is a belly scar or a permanent vaginal wound.
I give Christina Aguilera credit for breastfeeding her child and support her making whatever choice feels best for her life and her marriage.
Go to this thread at Mothering to read some amazing stories about vaginal birth trauma and what the various mothers did to heal it.
And for the record, no I do not feel comfortable writing about this topic on my blog. However, the FACT that many young moms are choosing c-sections out of ignorance for what causes post partum pelvic floor damage compels me to write about it.
Jenny Hatch