A few days ago I posted on Lactnet that the terms "section" and c-section"
are not politically correct.  I was asked privately if I would care to
explaine to the list so that folks would understand what I meant.  I'm not
sure how well I will be able to explaine it because this is a subject that
carries a great deal of emotion for me.

All women who have babies grow in their bodies and then have the baby come
out of their bodies give birth.  Some of these mothers give birth vaginally.
Some of these women give birth abdominally.  A vaginal birth is always
called a vaginal birth.  The correct name for an abdominal birth is
cesarean.  "Section" is something that one does with a piece of fruit- the
one that comes to mind is a grapefruit.  "C-Section" has the same non-human
sound to it.  When a wamon has her baby by vaginal birth, she is not refered
to as the "vagina in bed 2", or as  a "vagina" Is she?  So, why are mothers
who give birth by cesarean called "sections"?   Women who deliver by
cesarean are routinley refered to as "the section in ..."

I have been a member of the International Cesarean Prevention Movement for 9
years now.  I am not a spokes person for the organization.  But I do know
that many-if not most new mothers do not like to be refered to in such
medicalistic terms.  "section" and c-section" are both slang terms and using
them shows disrespect for the woman as a human being and as a mothers.  Many
women themselves use these terms to define their births.  I think that all
of us should not use these wrong and insulting terms.

I have had mothers I've helped refer to their breasts as "boobs" or "tits",
but, even though I understand what she is talking about, I would never ask
the mother "and where is the place you said your boob hurt?"  Would any of you?

I have had 4 cesareans- one of them in the US and One in Thailand,one in
Norway and one in Hong Kong.  My fourth child was born vaginally in the US.
Only with my American cesarean birth was I refered to as the "section in bed
2".  In the other countries I was a new mother who had just had surgery.  I
was never refered to as the procedure I had undergone.  After my vaginal
birth I was the "mother in bed one", nobody ever refered to me as a vagina,
though I certainly posses one.

I can't explaine it better than that.  As with many "politically in-correct"
words, there isn't a logical reason to it.  Well, I guess as I think on that
and try to think of some of those terms I realize the "wrong" with them.
They are demeaning.  It is demeaning to use the terms "section" and "c-section".

I know that all of us here want to be sensitive to the mothers we are
working with and I hope that this helps in some little way!  Thanks for
listening.

Nancy Sherwood mother of Courtney, Morgan, Darcy, Austin, and Chance-all my
children and nor "procedures".