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I never knew people are still this primitive until I walked into a hospital to check-up on a relative who just put to bed. On reaching there I walked straight to the reception and met a young lady, i told her what my misson was, she asked me to take a sit, pointing to some plastic chairs well arranged by the corner of the room. While I sat down she said to me, Sir please it is not yet our visiting time so you have to wait for some minutes. I had hardly sat down when I heard a loud noise coming from a room with the inscription of the doctor's office at the door, I tried to ignore the noise while I took a glance at my phone. All of a sudden a tall well dressed man in his mid thirties walked out of the office shouting "NO" I will never sign it, immediately another young man followed him out of the room with a paper whom I suspected was a doctor owing to the fact that he had his white coat on.

The man kept on insisting that he will not sign the paper and that attracted more attention towards the direction where the man was standing with the doctor and some nurses. At a point I was curious so I called one of the nurses and enquired what the problem was. She told me that the man has bluntly refuse to sign for a cesarean section to be carried out on his pregnant wife who has been in labour for some days now. As I was still listening to the nurse I heard the doctor say, sir if you are not ready to sign then take your wife elsewhere as he walked out of the crowd. I summoned courage and approached the man in the waiting crowd, took him to another corner of the room. I now asked him what his reason for not signing was? he said to me that his believe does not permit such. At this point I steered at him with amazement because I could not believe what I just heard, I kept quiet for a while as he received a call. When he was done with his call, I then reminded him of the place in the Holy book where it is written that heaven helps those who help themselves. I went further to let him know my wife went through same cesarean section when she wanted to have my son, he looked at me and smiled for the first time and said you will not understand . At this point I knew he has taken his stand on the issue. He was risking the life of his wife and unborn child just because of what people will say, atleast i did all I could to get him to change his mind but he refused so I left him and went about the business that brought me to the hospital at the first place.

When I got home I shared my experience with my wife and as I did, I went down memory Lane and I remembered a neighbor of mine who refused that his wife undergo a cesarean section and his reasons where the fact that his wife had already given birth to four kids through the normal way so would this one be an exception, after days of labour he almost lost both mother and child. When the child finally came out, she was physically deformed and at 8years before I relocated, she was yet to walk or even stand like a normal child and that made the woman stop work to become a full time house wife just to take care of that child. Now the child has turned to be a burden to them, but my ultimate question is this, when that child grows up to an adult stage and ask her parents why she is the way she is? what answer will they possibly give to her? And sadly that poor child will live with that stigma all through her life.

According to research in Nigeria, 40% of pregnant woman and their husbands refuses cesarean section outrightly. 90% of those who eventually delivers through it, are emergencies which indicates late arrivals and accepting cesarean section after seeking assistance elsewhere, reason being that is no other option that to go through cesarean section. Till date, it is really alarming to know that some cultures still frowns at cesarean operation while some still patronize traditional birth attendants called herbal doctors. Nigeria is a deep religious country which majority are either practicing Christianity or Islam, this religious environment together with socio-cultural, pressures women and their husbands to sometimes seek the religious way of child birth, telling them that they should have faith and hope that a divine intervention will lead to a successful normal child delivery. But there are risks associated with giving birth the normal way especially when the obstetrician advises against it. People still see cesarean section as an abomination/abnormal way of delivery in this part of the world. Some women in their part will tell you that they still prefer to give birth the natural way reasoning being that their own mothers gave birth to them the natural way. People also shy away from it because according to them after 3births with cesarean section if you try again it is suicidal but that is not true.

One truth about bearing a child is that it is one of the most dangerous thing a woman can do and also it is one of the sixth most common cause of death due to complications during and after child birth. But when cesarean operation became more common in the western world it did save lots of women who would have died from obstructed labour.

Cesarean operation is gradually begin accepted into the Nigerian society and I think it will go a long way to reduce mortality rate in child birth. Yes it is true that cesarean comes with it own problems but when done by a qualified obstetrican/gynaecologist in a well equipped hospital there is no risk involved. So i will say your biggest cesarean risk may be your hospital.

I am not against normal child birth. But all I am saying is that if one is advised on cesarean section please follow the advise of the obstetrician so as to save both the life of mother and child as well as reduce death rate in child bearing.

The only obstacle I see in cesarean section in this part of the world is the huge cost associated with it. The amount charged for a cesarean section can be so alarming, I had my own fair share of this when I had my son. I had to pay through my nose. But in all it is better for both mother and child to be safe during child birth because money cannot buy life and it is worth it.

I stand for cesarean section if advised. What about you.