TABLE 4. Reasons for Preferring Cesarean Surgery (n = 84).

Theme	n (%)	Exemplar Quotes
Fear of vaginal birth and avoidance of pain	38 (45.2)	“There is less pain involved in the [cesarean] delivery.”
To avoid changes to the body	16 (19.0)	“Honestly, I don’t want my body to really change.”
Other
Family history of cesarean surgeries	5 (6.0)	“My mother had it [cesarean delivery] for both myself and my sister.”
Cesarean surgeries are safer	4 (4.8)	“I believe this [cesarean delivery] is safer and poses less risks to child and to the mother than a vaginal delivery.”
Too small/petite for a vaginal birth	3 (3.6)	“I’m only 5′10 with a very small frame. I think that a C section would be a better option, given my size.”

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.