Many mothers to be have questions about the safest method of giving birth. C Section vs natural birth has been a subject for debate with many people, and not just mothers. Doctors and midwives have also chimed in to give their opinion as to which method is the safest. The medical profession's stance on c section vs natural birth is that unless a woman has some sort of a medical reason for needing a c section, she should go ahead with a natural birth. However, this statement contradicts the percentage of the caesarian section rate in most American hospitals today. In the year 2006, around one out of three women in this country have babies that are born via c section when they are born in a hospital. Many women ask for this option because they want to schedule the birth of their child for a particular day, and most of the time, doctors will comply with their patient's wishes. It should be stressed that a c section is major abdominal surgery, and it will take several weeks for the new mother to heal. One of the restrictions given to c section mothers is no lifting of anything over five pounds, and the majority of new babies weigh more than this. Unless the new mother has live-in help for the first six weeks, having a c section will interfere with her ability to lift and handle her child.