I am writing this review as a woman, mother, and health care professional. I delivered two children vaginally, twins by scheduled c-section and had an elective hysterectomy two years ago. Due to the "normal, uncomplicated" vaginal births I developed a rectacele, which is a prolapse in the vaginal wall between the rectum and vagina. When I found out I was having twins I opted for a scheduled c-section. My babies were born healthy and were delivered with NO complications. I can honestly say I bonded immediently with my babies, and NURSED BOTH babies with NO difficulty. Two years later, my scar is nothing more than a very fine line about 2 inches long. After successfully delivering four children I opted for a hysterectomy when my periods were causing me pain.
Now having all that said lets discuss all of this in detail. First, these were all my choices. As a woman I feel it is my right to decide what I think is best for me. Dr. Walters book gave me comfort in my decision with a section. As a nurse I have seen the results of physicians who wait too long to section. Also, in my investigation of c-sections there is very little medical research in today's medical journals speaking out against sections. Malpractice is too risky. Also for those of you trying to make that decision remember: Most women who have a section the first time REQUEST a second one. Mine, because it was scheduled, was a piece of cake. Thank you Dr. Walters for caring enough about women to give them this book! I recovered from my section much quicker than I did from the rectacele.
I chose the hysterectomy to eliminate my pain. I have not regreted my decision for one minute and have NEVER talked to a woman who regreted having a hysterectomy. I have now eliminated two potential types of cancer and have a very enjoyable, pain-free life.
As a health care professional I can speak first handedly about everything Dr. Walters writes about. Dr. Walters speaks candidly about issues that need to be discussed in our "sue-happy" society. As an obvious "poster child" for Dr. Walter's book, I give it my full support and hope more women will benefit from his expertise, insight and concern. This doctor truely cares about women, their decisions about their bodies, and their unborn babies.

This book is written my someone that doesn't really have the expertise or medical background to write a book of this sort. People that want the FACTS about cesarean, repeat cesarean, or VBAC, and the evidence based risks and benefits, are not going to get it here. Cesarean IS a valid birth, IF it is medically necessary. Unfortunately, what is said to be medically necessary, in most cases, is about 1/6th of cesareans proformed, "Medically necessary" is VERY debatable. Cesarean for conveince is a crime. We have WAY too high a cesarean rate, and not the infant mortality to back up this rate. Many feel birth to be something to be indured. Something someone else makes decisions for you about. If you want reinforcement to that, here ya go. Vaginal birth isn't all it is cracked up to be? Tell that to me, who after a hospital birth with a midwife, chose even LESS intervention, and had freestanding birth center waterbirth. Why? Becasue I was the director. I was not coached, discouraged, persuaded into anything. I had a birth expereince I enjoyed, and I took responsibility for my decisions. Or tell it to a friend of mine, who made the emotional journey after a pelvic disproportion cesarean, that just had a VBAC at a freestadning birth center with a midwife-who is STILL beaming of empowerment months later. You CAN choose cesarean for yourself. BUT be sure the choice IS truely yours, for yourself, for your baby. Read the FACTS about the risks, not just what your doctor tells you. Yes cesarean IS valid birth, but your contentment with it is a whole other subject. There IS more to birth than a healthy baby. How about a healthy mom too?

PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: THIS REVIEW IS A REVISION TO ONE I SUBMITTED YESTERDAY. Upon reviewing the guidelines I realized that a few comments could be construed as spiteful or sarcastic, and there was one incorrect observation. Please print the revised review.

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I have to say that while I disagree with many of the points that Dr. Campbell addresses in "Just Take It Out", I do agree with him on one issue: freedom of choice, as long as a woman is properly informed. The problem is that very few women are adequately informed and this book does nothing to help matters. In fact it plays upon the fears of woman to promote an agenda that consists of two things: Lawsuit avoidance and "daylight obstetrics" promotion. Instead of encouraging women to develop confidence in their ability to give birth and educating them on how to reduce their chances for a first time cesarean, Dr. Campbell dramatizes worst-case scenarios which in actuality are quite rare in an attempt to convince women that cesarean section is the preferred way to give birth.

Dr. Campbell mentions that the majority of women in this country deliver vaginally with no complications at all, but he buries it in one sentence at the very back of the book. If this were my first pregnancy and I would have read this book, I would have been miserable and terrified during the entire pregnancy. Unfortunately, "Just Take It Out" is silent on the fact that many women suffer emotionally after having had a cesarean. They feel as if they have run a race and did not get to cross the finish line. Many women who deliver by cesarean also have difficulty bonding with and breastfeeding their babies.

Dr. Campbell espouses the doctrine of "Science will make all things better". This is not always so. Many years ago science thought that it could develop a baby formula superior to breast milk. It has now been established that this could not be done and now we are once again admitting that nature could not be improved upon. I find it dangerous that this representative of science is suggesting that cesarean delivery is or could be superior to vaginal birth except when a demonstrable medical situation warrants it. Do we see veterinarians sectioning animals in the name of superior technology? Are we to believe that we are the only species on earth incapable of safely giving natural birth to our offspring?

I would like to revisit the freedom of choice argument and take it one step further. If physicians are saying that women have the right to choose how they give birth as long as they are properly informed, then it should be argued in all fairness that homebirth should be accepted in all states and that a woman who wants a midwife to attend her birth should have one. Therefore the practice of midwifery should be legal in all states. Women who choose homebirth are actually more informed about birth than your average woman who chooses a hospital birth. In support of a woman's right to choose physicians should volunteer to support homebirth as a backup for the midwife. I don't think women would have a problem signing a consent form for homebirth.

And last but not least I would like to address the fact that on the one hand Dr. Campbell states that cesarean section for a live baby is safe and actually tries to frighten women into choosing one, but on the other hand in his chapter "Dead Babies" he says that they do not perform cesareans to remove a fetus that has died because it is placing the patient at unnecessary risk. In fact he states that it is a cardinal sin of the greatest proportion to deliver a baby that is known to be dead by cesarean section. For the sake of argument, let us take the baby out of the scenario. Are we to believe Dr. Campbell that a cesarean is better than vaginal birth for the mother in one case but places the patient at unnecessary risk in the other? Are they not undergoing the same operation in both cases? He contradicts himself by admitting that this is a risky if not dangerous procedure. If so, then why recommend it at all unless medically necessary?

This makes you think doesn't it? I am an informed woman who has had a cesarean and a vaginal birth after cesarean without an epidural. My cesarean was medically necessary. Comparing the two experiences, I would still choose vaginal birth hands down.

I have to say that while I disagree with many of the points that Dr. Campbell addresses in "Just Take It Out", I do agree with him on one issue: freedom of choice, as long as a woman is properly informed. The problem is that very few women are adequately informed and this book does nothing to help matters. In fact it plays upon the fears of woman to promote an agenda that consists of two things: Lawsuit avoidance and "daylight obstetrics" promotion. Instead of encouraging women to develop confidence in their ability to give birth and educating them on how to reduce their chances for a first time cesarean, Dr. Campbell dramatizes worst-case scenarios which in actuality are quite rare in an attempt to convince women that cesarean section is the preferred way to give birth.

Dr. Campbell mentions that the majority of women in this country deliver vaginally with no complications at all, but he buries it in one sentence at the very back of the book. If this were my first pregnancy and I would have read this book, I would have been miserable and terrified during the entire pregnancy. Unfortunately, "Just Take It Out" is silent on the fact that many women suffer emotionally after having had a cesarean. They feel as if they have run a race and did not get to cross the finish line. Many women who deliver by cesarean also have difficulty bonding with and breastfeeding their babies.

Dr. Campbell espouses the doctrine of "Science will make all things better". This is not always so. Many years ago science thought that it could develop a baby formula superior to breast milk. It has now been established that this could not be done and now we are once again admitting that nature could not be improved upon. I find it dangerous that this representative of science is suggesting that cesarean delivery is or could be superior to vaginal birth except when a demonstrable medical situation warrants it. Do we see veterinarians sectioning animals in the name of superior technology? Are we to believe that we are the only species on earth incapable of safely giving natural birth to our offspring?

I would like to revisit the freedom of choice argument and take it one step further. If physicians are saying that women have the right to choose how they give birth as long as they are properly informed, then it should be argued in all fairness that homebirth should be accepted in all states and that a woman who wants a midwife to attend her birth should have one. Therefore the practice of midwifery should be legal in all states. Women who choose homebirth are actually more informed about birth than your average woman who chooses a hospital birth. In support of a woman's right to choose physicians should volunteer to support homebirth as a backup for the midwife. I don't think women would have a problem signing a consent form for homebirth.

And last but not least I would like to address the fact that on the one hand Dr. Campbell states that cesarean section for a live baby is safe and actually tries to frighten women into choosing one, but on the other hand in his chapter "Dead Babies" he says that they do not perform cesareans to remove a fetus that has died because it is placing the patient at unnecessary risk. In fact he states that it is a cardinal sin of the greatest proportion to deliver a baby that is known to be dead by cesarean section. For the sake of argument, let us take the baby out of the scenario. Are we to believe Dr. Campbell that a cesarean is better than vaginal birth for the mother in one case but places the patient at unnecessary risk in the other? Are they not undergoing the same operation in both cases? He contradicts himself by admitting that this is a risky if not dangerous procedure. If so, then why recommend it at all unless medically necessary?

This makes you think doesn't it? I am an informed woman who has had a cesarean and a vaginal birth after cesarean without an epidural. My cesarean was medically necessary. Comparing the two experiences, I would still choose vaginal birth hands down.

I was enormously relieved to read Dr. Walters' book and hear a voice of reason in what is a politically fraught area. As a young woman trying to decide whether to deliver via repeat c-section or VBAC, this is the ONLY book I could find in support of choosing a c-section. There is so much pressure on women today to have a vaginal birth that I was hard-pressed to find any information or statistics in support of elective cesarians. However, after reading this book, I am confidently scheduling my section and convinced it is the safe choice for my baby and for me. One of the most enlightening insights is the explanation of the truth behind the c-section death rate statistics. There is a lot of useful information here, which has shed a fascinating new light on my experience, as well as that of my mother and several friends. I hope it reaches women and doctors who are interested in exploring the truth about these issues, and I hope that Dr. Walters is just one of many MDs who will work toward better, more advanced OB care for women in the future.