"There are many reasons women need cesareans. Sometimes the situation is truly lifethreatening. But often the problem is that labor simply isnt progressing. That was the case for Valerie Echo Duckett  who lives in Columbus Ohio. After receiving an epidural for pain Ducketts contractions stopped. By late evening she was told shed need a Csection to deliver her son Avery. Duckett says she has vague memories of being wheeled into the operating room strapped down and shaking from cold. They were covering me up with warm blanketsshe says. I kind of slept in and out of it. Her only memory of meeting her newborn son for the first time was from some pictures her husband took. I felt that I hadnt earned the right to say I gave birth to him. Valerie Echo Duckett This is the experience many women have. The cesarean section http is the most common surgery in America  about  in  babies is delivered this way. But for many women being told they need a Csection is unpleasant news. Duckett says she felt like she missed out on a pivotal moment in her pregnancy. It took me a long time even to be able to say that I gave birth to Avery she says. I felt like I didnt earn the right to say I gave birth to him like it was taken from me somehow like I hadnt done what I was supposed to do. Ducketts reaction to her Csection is unfortunately a common one says Betsey Snow head of Family and Child Services at Anne Arundel Medical Center httpaahs.org a community hospital in Annapolis Md. Article continues after this message from our sponsor I hear a lot of moms say Im disappointed I had to have a Csection. A lot of women felt like they failed because they couldnt do a vaginal delivery says Snow. Now some hospitals are offering small but significant changes to the procedure to make it seem more like a birth than major surgery. In a typical Csection a closed curtain shields the sterile operating field. Mothers dont see the procedure and their babies are immediately whisked away for pediatric care  a separation that can last for close to half an hour. Kristen Caminiti httpkcamfam.blogspot.comafamilycenteredmiracle.html of Crofton Md. knows this routine well. Her first two sons were born by traditional cesarean. She was happy with their births because she says it was all she knew. Then just a few weeks into her third pregnancy Caminiti who is  saw a post on Facebook about familycentered cesarean http techniques catching on in England. I clicked on the link and thought I want that  she says. The techniques are relatively easy and the main goals simple Let moms see their babies being born if they want and put newborns immediately on the mothers chest for skintoskin contact. This helps stimulate bonding and breast feeding. Caminiti asked her obstetrician Dr. Marcus Penn http_Penn.html if hed allow her to have this kind of birth. He said yes. When Caminiti told Penn what she wanted his first thought was it wouldnt be that difficult to do. I didnt see anything that would be terribly out of the norm he says. It would be different from the way we usually do it but nothing terrible that anyone would say we shouldnt try that. It was the most amazing and gracefilled experience to finally have that moment of having my baby be placed on my chest. Kristen Caminiti Familycentered cesareans are a relatively new idea in the U.S. and many doctors and hospitals have no experience with them. Penn and the staff at Anne Arundel Medical Center quickly realized the procedure would require some changes including adding a nurse and bringing the neonatal team into the operating room. And there were a bunch of little adjustments such as moving the EKG monitors from their usual location on top of the mothers chest to her side. This allows the delivery team to place the newborn baby immediately on the mothers chest. In addition Penn says the mothers hands were not strapped down and the intravenous line was put in her nondominant hand so she could hold the baby. At the beginning of October Caminiti underwent her Csection. She was alert her head was up and the drape lowered so she could watch the delivery of her son Connor. Caminitis husband Matt recorded the event. After Connor was out with umbilical cord still attached he was placed right on Caminitis chest. It was the most amazing and gracefilled experience to finally have that moment of having my baby be placed on my chest Caminiti says. He was screaming and then I remember that when I started to talk to him he stopped. It was awesome. And the baby stayed with her for the rest of the procedure. Changes like this can make a big difference says Dr. William Camann httpphysiciandirectory.brighamandwomens.orgDetails the director of obstetric anesthesiology at Brigham and Womens Hospital httpbrighamandwomens.org in Boston and one of the pioneers of the procedure in the U.S. At Brigham and Womens their version of the familycentered cesarean is called the gentle cesarean http_bwhpublicaffairsnewspublicationsDisplayBulletin.aspxarticleid. Moms who opt for it can view the birth through a clear plastic drape and immediate skintoskin contact follows. Camann says the gentle Csection is not a replacement for a vaginal birth its just a way to improve the surgical experience. No one is trying to advocate for Csections. We really dont want to increase the cesarean rate we just want to make it better for those who have to have it he says. So why has the procedure been slow to catch on Hospitals arent charging more for it  so cost doesnt seem to be a major factor. Whats lacking are clinical studies. Without hard scientific data on outcomes and other concerns like infection control many hospitals may be wary of changing their routines. Betsey Snow of Anne Arundel Medical Center says the familycentered Csection represents a cultural shift and her hospital is helping break new ground by adopting it. It is the first time we have really done anything innovative or creative with changing the Csection procedure in years she says. Kristen Caminiti says her hope is that these innovations become routine. She says shed like nothing more than to know that other women having Csections are able to have the same amazing experience she had."