Recent research shows that 73% of Brazilian women prefer vaginal birth, but the statistics for cesarean births show that not all can fulfill this wish. Up to 57% of births in Brazil today are performed by cesarean section, though there is a medical need in only about 15% of cases. Cesarean section is a surgical procedure to remove the baby, beneficial to the health of the woman and the child when necessary, either due to a health problem in the mother or risks to which both are exposed.

A law has currently been passed that indicates cesarean section only in cases of proven need, prohibiting early scheduling at will, including requests by cesarean-minded doctors, giving more emphasis to vaginal birth. This type of delivery has increasingly been supported by women, feminist activists, and the Ministry of Health. Greater respect is required for this moment and for the woman's right to give birth with dignity, without being forced into unnecessary or unwanted surgical interventions.

Births in which the mother's wishes are fully respected are called humanized. She may, for example, want family members nearby to witness the big moment, or births in water, where a life is born with all the emotion of those present. After all, the great moment of birth is a unique event between mother and child and will always be special. When the mother wishes for no interventions, it is considered a natural birth.