Meghan Rodberg never expected that her second labor would end in a Cesarean birth. After all, her first child had been born vaginally. But just in case, Rodberg, of Boston, Mass., included preferences for Cesarean in her birth plan. She was glad she did. "When my arms were strapped down in the OR, I was too drugged and exhausted to protest," Rodberg says. "My husband and doula remembered that I'd specified in the plan that I not be strapped down. They pitched a fit until I was unstrapped."

When you're planning your baby's birth, having a C-section is one of the last things you want to think about. And if your baby's health is in jeopardy, you won't care about your birth experience. But most unscheduled Cesareans aren't done because the life of the baby or the mother is danger, says Dr. Bruce Flamm, practicing OB/GYN with Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Riverside, Calif., clinical professor at UC-Irvine, and author of Birth After Cesarean.

"Most of the time ... it's because the labor has slowed down, progress is not going sufficiently, and then there's usually no emergency," Dr. Flamm says. If your labor comes to the point where, no matter what you do, your baby just won't come out vaginally, having a plan will help you have the best Cesarean birth possible.

"Think about it early on in the prenatal care," Dr. Flamm says. "It's not a bad idea to think about this even when you're 3 months pregnant ... when there's a calm setting and time to talk."

Here are some issues to consider as you think about your needs and preferences:

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