GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - A record number of American women are choosing to have C–sections before they go into labor.

Katharine Jansma is glowing during her second pregnancy, while at a visit to her gynecologist and obstetrician. She's anticipating a second Cesarean section.

"The healing process for me was simple. I wasn't sore. As soon as I got my staples out, I walked normally," says Jansma.

Researchers say since 1996, the rate of Cesarean sections in the U.S. has jumped 50 percent. Doctors say the recovery after a C–section is more forgiving in years to come.

"Women are choosing to have C–sections without laboring for convenience and because they don't want to deal with the pelvic issues that arise after a vaginal birth," says Dr. Kevin Howell of Mesa Women's Heath Care.

This is especially if you push out a big baby. "You can have a relaxation of the bladder. So when you cough, or sneeze, or try to exercise, you will leak urine, which is very uncomfortable and very embarrassing," says Dr. Howell.

However, Katharaine's main motivation, was so her baby's daddy could be in the delivery room. "We chose to have it so my husband could be there. It was easier for us to plan," says Jansma.

But her baby was born prematurely and with complications. Katharine needed an emergency c–section.

"Her cord was so wrapped up that she wouldn't have come out naturally without being alive," says Jansma.

C–sections are no longer for just emergencies. In 2007, U.S. hospitals reported a record number totaling more than 30–percent of all deliveries. In other countries, like Japan, up to 90 percent of women are passing on labor pains. Soon–to–be moms seem to be avoiding the stretch, in more ways than one.

"Women choose to have C-sections so that they have a tighter reproductive area, so that sex is more natural feels more comfortable," says Dr. Howell.

Insurance companies also now cover C-sections, as they didn't used to in years past. Doctors say insurance companies caved because the demand was there, even though most moms still opt to cope with the contractions.

Studies also show women who have an induced pregnancy are twice as likely to deliver by C–section. Experts are still trying to determine why that is.