Yes, it's the holidays. No, you probably don't need a Cesarean.
Happy holidays! I'm sure you're ready to get that baby out right?!
On a "regular" day - weekdays or non-holidays, hospitals are fully staffed with all the specialists, lab staff, nurses, surgeons, midwives, OB/GYNs, and any other medical staff you could possibly need. Because of this, you're more likely to be able to labor in your own space and at your own pace with little interruption. On the weekends and holidays, though, that can be a totally different story.
Just like anyone else, hospital staff want (and deserve) to spend time with their families during the holiday season. This means that hospitals end up severely understaffed and the staff that is there ends up severely overworked. For birthers and babies, this could unfortunately mean less support, less freedom, and less time to make informed decisions. Patients are more likely to experience delayed treatments, resulting in increased infection complications, longer lengths of stay, and increased risk of mortality.
Another thing that comes along with the holidays is an increase in birthing persons due during the holidays being asked (or coerced) to schedule inductions or Cesareans. Lots of birthers kinda just agree to it - truth is, they don't want to be stuck in the hospital during the holidays either. Birth can be a very long, very drawn out process, lasting (for first-time birthers especially) anywhere from less than an hour to several days. Holidays usually come with "scheduling" inductions or Cesareans before the body even gets the opportunity to attempt birth by itself. Why? Convenience. Of course they can't say it's out of convenience - so it'll usually be something along the lines of the baby being too big or the baby showing signs of distress. It's rarely ever true, but we tend to blindly trust our doctors because "first do no harm" right?
In an interview years ago, Dr. Stuart Fischbein of Birthing Instincts (LA's only OB/GYN specializing in natural breech, twin, and VBAC births) stated, "f I do a breech I have to sit with a patient for six to ten hours because hospital policy says I have to be there,” Fischbein explained. “I can read a book and watch Sports Center in the lounge. But I can’t be making any money or covering the overhead I need to run my office or spending time with my family. Who’s going to do that when they can do a C-section and be out in forty-five minutes? It’s more expedient for doctors to do C-sections. It’s just so much easier for them.”
So there you have it, folks.