Cesarean Section Day is a holiday observed on January 14th that celebrates the first recorded successful Cesarean Section in the United States.

Although C-sections have been recorded in history since ancient times, the procedure performed on January 14th, 1794, was the first one that wasn’t performed on a woman when neither the child nor the woman was dead or dying.

At the time, survival rates for C-sections were only about 15% for the mother and the child, which is a far cry from the modern survival rates of 98.2% nowadays. In the United States, over half a million C-sections are performed every year.

The History of Cesarean Section Day

In 1794, the wife of American physician Dr. Jesse Bennett went into labor, and he and Dr. Humphrey were the only two doctors to attend to her care. She had been in labor for several hours, and as time passed, the risk of complications began to steeply rise.

Dr. Humphrey tried and failed to remove the baby using forceps, and this is when Dr. Bennett suggested performing a C-section. Dr. Humphrey refused, as he thought that the procedure would result in the death of both the mother and the child.

An argument ensued between the two doctors, and Dr. Humphrey ended up leaving the home. Dr. Bennett then decided to perform the C-section himself. Since he didn’t have the proper medical equipment, he had to make do with homemade instruments. He made an operation table out of planks supported by barrels and used candlelight to work. As an anesthetic, he used a tincture of opium.

Dr. Bennett made a precise cut on his wife and removed their daughter from Elizabeth. Miraculously, both the mother and the child survived the incident. Although Dr. Bennett never relayed the story of the birth, eyewitness reports were pieced together to memorialize the story of how Dr. Bennett saved both his wife and daughter by performing a C-section. This date has been observed as a holiday ever since.

Observing Cesarean Section Day

People can observe this holiday by learning more about Dr. Jesse Bennett and the C-section he performed on January 14th, 1794. People can also learn more about C-sections and share the news of this holiday with everyone online using the hashtag #CesareanSectionDay or #CsectionDay on social media.

This is also a good day to celebrate C-section babies or for mothers to share their C-section scars with their closest friends and family members. And of course, people can wish C-section mothers and babies a Happy Cesarean Section Day!