I don't remember much about the birth of my first child. I don't remember what he looked like after birth. I don't remember how it felt to hold him. In fact, I didn't spend much time with him until he was six hours old. Like 20 percent of all American births, my son was delivered by Cesarean section.

And I knew from the moment I returned home, barely able to walk up my front steps, that this was not the way childbirth was meant to be.

Birth is a natural process. The overwhelming odds are that most women will have uncomplicated labors and deliveries. Yet, in these days of medical skill, Cesarean section is viewed as an equal alternative to vaginal birth. The truth is that Cesarean sections save lives, but statistics suggest many may be unnecessary.

In the United States, high Cesarean numbers cause the surgery to seem commonplace and make it easy to forget that this major abdominal surgery carries many risks. For Cindy Minear of Westminster, Calif., the decision to pursue a vaginal birth after a Cesarean was not difficult. She remembered all too well the seeping incision that needed to be re-opened and drained, and the nurses who came to her house twice a day to clean and repack the wound. "Not wanting to go through all the medical complications was the main factor in [deciding to have a VBAC]," Minear says.

According to the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), the risks of Cesarean section include:

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