What is a
Caesarean section?
A Cesarean section (also spelled "Caesarian" or "Caesarean") is a surgical childbirth procedure in which the baby is delivered through a surgical incision into the womb. One popular theory as to why it is called a cesarean section or c-section is that the term was derived from the surgical birth of the Roman leader Julius Caesar. However, Caesar’s mother Aurelia lived through her son’s invasion of Britain, making it highly unlikely that she gave birth surgically in the year 100 BC. The more likely answer lies in the origin of the name “Caesar,” which comes from the Latin word for to cut, or caedere.
Today Cesarean sections (or C-sections) are an exceedingly common method of childbirth accounting for a third of all babies delivered in the United States.
While a surgical procedure that often frightens the new mother, c-sections are relatively simple, common, and safe operations and that they are usually performed when vaginal birth presents a risk to the health and even the survival of the fetus or mother.