I know different numbers have been bandied about in recent years but the latest government data shows that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. women had a C-section in 2005.

That compares to 1 in 5 women back in 1995:

The report also said that about 1.3 million women gave birth via Caesarean section in 2005 -- a 38 percent increase over the 800,000 Caesarean sections performed in 1995.

The increase occurred as vaginal deliveries among women who gave birth in hospitals declined from about 3 million in 1995 to 2.9 million in 2005 -- a decrease of 3 percent. The sharpest decline in vaginal deliveries in hospitals was among women who had previously given birth by Caesarean section.

I don't question the medical need for C-sections, but I do wonder why the rates have climbed so significantly. Like the article stated, one reason is that women who previously give birth by C-section are in many cases compelled by their doctors to have another C-section during subsequent births.

Of course, there are those cases of women who are "too posh to push" and schedule a C-section-- a la Christina Aguilera, who was afraid of tearing (aren't we all?).

But medical experts are increasingly ackowledging that many women have a "clinically significant" fear of childbirth that leads them to schedule C-sections:

These women also mentioned that they felt less happy before the delivery and were afraid their child would die. Dr Ingela Wiklund, from the division of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, led the study. She said "Women suffering from significant childbirth fear indicate that they are less self-confident, unhappy, afraid that the child will be injured and don't long for the child. This clearly emphasizes the need for pre- and post-natal support."

Many of the comments on Jezebel were predictably judgmental, in the "Get over it!" vein. I personally don't begrudge a woman's right to deliver her baby whichever way she sees fit. I was pretty terrified of childbirth myself; it stemmed from watching my own mother give birth when I was an impressionable 15-year-old. Best. Birth control. EVER.

Luckily, my own vaginal birth went smoothly almost 15 years later, and I'm grateful for that.

But there was one comment that resonated with me:

"What about the "clinically significant fear" of being sliced open?! While you're awake?! My clinically significant fear is of scalpels."

What about you ladies? Did you fear childbirth? Did you have planned or unplanned C-sections? For those of you that have delivered both vaginally and via C-section, how did the experiences compare?