TABLE 3. Reasons for Preferring Vaginal Birth (n = 539).

Theme	n (%)	Exemplar Quotes
Vaginal births as a traditional or natural way to give birth	336 (65.9)	“I believe it is the traditional way to have a child.” “Our bodies are made for the birthing process.” “. . . I would rather feel the natural process of childbirth . . . ”
Avoidance of major surgery (e.g., pain, scarring, and recovery time)	215 (39.8)	“A C-section is a major surgery that would be much more painful and harder to recover from than a vaginal birth.”
Vaginal births as a healthier and safer way to give birth	90 (16.6)	“Healthier for both mom and baby”
Other
Family history of vaginal births	12 (2.2)	“My family has always had vaginal deliveries.”
To avoid future cesarean surgeries	8 (1.5)	“I’ve heard that C-sections complicate future births; once you have a C-section, all births must be C-sections.”

Note. The percentages do not add up to 100% because more than one theme was assigned to respondents who offered more than one reason for their preference.