Reason #52 to avoid a Cesarean if you can

They might forget the anesthetic. Needless to say, the woman’s lawyer is talking to her anesthesiologist’s lawyer.

On the other hand, it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that anesthesia revolutionized surgery. For the hundreds of years before that, women had their Cesarean deliveries as sentient as you are as you read this. Not that a lot of them lived to talk about it. Perhaps the surprising thing is that in those days before sterile procedure or understanding of germs, some women DID live.

For an interesting illustrated history of the Cesarean delivery, check out this site. It has the text of a brochure prepared for the National Library of Medicine and includes reprints of woodcuts showing abdominal birth dating back to the 1500s.