Beyonce Gives Birth to Blue Ivy and Colorful Debate

Jim Spellman/ Wire image (TIME Healthland)

I've posted this comment on TIME article, Beyoncé's Baby: C-Section? Natural Childbirth? Why We Care So Much:

Bonnie Rochman picks up on some interesting points in this article - namely the hierarchy of c-sections, and indeed the perceived hierarchy of all birth types.

Unfortunately, birth plans and birth outcomes are often discussed within a context of mixed data and anecdotal evidence, and when a celebrity has a baby - however she has it - this provides a fresh opportunity to discuss and debate issues surrounding the birth choices women make (or want to make).

What has proved particularly interesting in the case of Beyonce's birth experience is the way different people have reacted to different information about whether it was natural or surgical.

Personally, I believe that choosing a cesarean is as natural a birth plan in the 21st century as planning a vaginal birth - as long as the woman is fully informed of both sets of risks, is planning a small family, and schedules surgery at 39+ gestational weeks (assuming no medical indication for earlier delivery). Of course, not everyone agrees with this, which is why there is so much debate on the subject.

What I would say is this: It's not celebrities that have been leading the way with cesarean birth choices. Rather, it is doctors, as demonstrated in a number of research studies on their birth choices, and the choices of their wives and partners.

Finally, however Beyonce gave birth, it is her business (unless she chooses to discuss it) and she should be neither condemned nor put on a pedestal because of it. What matters most is that this mother and daughter are healthy, and that as a society we do everything we can to give other mothers and babies the same chance of healthy outcomes too.