I demanded a C-section to have my baby – I wanted to take the easy route, plus it left my bits in tip-top shape

AS soon as the theme tune to TV show One Born Every Minute began, Rachel Allen would make a dash for the door.

Unable to watch even a second of the hit TV show without her heart racing, she feared she’d never be able to have a baby.

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But after being diagnosed with tokophobia — a fear of pregnancy that can lead to the avoidance of childbirth — Rachel opted for a Caesarean section after she became pregnant with her son Lewis, now seven.

She says: “I was terrified of giving birth. The thought of the blood, gore and pain — I couldn’t deal with it.

“Having a C-section was the best decision I ever made. Without it, I might not be a mother today.”

Rachel, 40, is in good company. Radio DJ Kate Lawler revealed on Instagram she too had decided on a C-section for the birth of her three-month-old daughter Noa.

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The 40-year-old 2002 Big Brother winner said: “I had a really positive video call with an obstetrician about options and we discussed my fear of childbirth, along with various facts and figures on both (C-section) and spontaneous births.”

Her comments generated mixed reactions — even though one in four UK births are C-sections.

But statistics for them are not separated between elective and emergency, or those planned for a medical reason.

However, tokophobia affects around 14 per cent of women and since 2000 it has been on the rise, according to research.

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Some experts partly blame social media as more women are sharing their painful birth stories.

So it is unclear exactly how many mums choose to have one for non-medical reasons.

They are not the preferred options within the NHS and doctors can refuse to perform them — although they must refer patients to medics who will.

Their view is that a C-section is a “major operation” and in most cases a natural birth is safer for mother and baby alike.

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Single mum Rachel, a social media manager from Milton Keynes says: “Growing up, I heard stories of long labours — 40 hours-plus — and torn bits. It made me think giving birth was something I could never do.”

Rachel yearned to be a mum all the same, so in 2011 — four years after marrying the man who is now her ex-husband — she began talking therapy on the NHS, having been referred by her GP.

She says: “I was so frightened. I didn’t think I could physically have a baby.

“But the therapist and I discussed my phobia and, after a time, I could very gently watch the intro to One Born Every Minute.

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“After a year I could watch the entire programme and I was able to rationalise it and not catastrophise. It felt like huge progress.”

Six months later, she became pregnant. She says: “I immediately insisted on a C-section. In my mind there was no other option.

“The first midwife said, ‘No, no, you’ll be fine — everyone feels like that’. But I made my viewpoint quite clear and after looking through my notes they agreed.”

Lewis, weighing 6lb 11oz, arrived safe and healthy at Milton Keynes Hospital.

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Rachel says: “I loved him immediately but I will never feel guilty.

“I think a planned C-section is a lot less risky than when a birth goes wrong and you need an emergency C-section.”

Rachel has never been judged by her friends for opting for what some people consider an easier option.

She says: “Why should women be martyrs? It’s toxic, holding up the view that birth has to be agony or you’re not doing it right. Pain isn’t a badge of honour.”

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Emma Cusden, a marketing and PR firm owner from Midhurst, West Sussex, also had both her children — Freddie, now four, and Sailor, ten months — via C-section.

Emma, 33, who is married to Jonny, 34, a fireman, says: “I was encouraged to have a natural birth throughout my pregnancy with Freddie.

“But after two induction attempts failed, I said, ‘Enough’s enough’. I insisted on a C-section. I was beginning to feel violated. I felt like a cow being probed by a vet. I didn’t want it to continue.

“Some of my mates who gave birth around the same time needed stitches and couldn’t sit down. But I was fine.

“And my bits were in tip-top shape, which I was pleased about, although of course I had a scar.”

After becoming pregnant with daughter Sailor two years later, Emma immediately insisted on another C-section.

Arriving at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, in July 2020, Emma says she could hear women screaming as they gave birth naturally.

She adds: “I was just so relieved I was going to have a lovely, civilised C-section. And it was civilised.

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“I also did a thing called a gentle or natural Caesarean, with skin-to-skin contact as soon as Sailor was born. It was such a positive experience.

“Some people have said I’m ‘too posh to push’ but I don’t care. I shut them down pretty quickly.

“I’d never have a natural birth. Hearing women scream at their husbands was enough to put me off that for life.”