A C-section is an operation in which a doctor takes a baby out through a cut in the mother’s belly, instead of the baby being born through the birth canal. C stands for Caesarean, and section is the medical cut. This is the everyday English name; hospitals and families use it all the time, and it does not feel slangy or cold. The longer name is Caesarean section (also spelled Cesarean). Some births are planned this way; some become necessary if a vaginal birth is not safe. In Taiwan, this is simply 剖腹產 — that is the word people already have.

剖腹產