It took me a while to decide on a region or country to look at birth traditions, and compare it to my own experience. I decided to go with Iran, only because they often come up in my political discussions, and I figured it would be very different from the United States. I was shocked to find that the number of cesarean births was steadily increasing in Iran not due to medical necessity, but because it is being viewed as a status symbol, only poor women should undergo natural childbirth. “The wealthier the province the higher the percentage of births by c-section; all without any medical indication for the surgery” (Sinaiee, 2009). I think this is the height of foolishness and the medical community in Iran needs to do a better job of educating women on the justification for cesarean birth. The icing on the cake is that insurance only pays for a small percentage of the c-section so these families are spending money they may really be able to afford just to keep up social appearances.

When I think back to how much I feel I missed out on by not being able to have a natural childbirth, it makes me somewhat angry to think that these women are taking one of life’s greatest experiences and reducing it to a show of socioeconomic status. Another big difference is that while my husband was by my side during my cesarean section, in Iran they are just beginning to let men into the delivery room period. I am sure their culture plays a big role in the men not going into the delivery room, and many Iranian men have no desire to watch their wife give birth.