Expecting mothers in Brazil are throwing elaborate parties to celebrate having Caesarean section deliveries, complete with viewing galleries so friends and family can watch the birth.
Elective Caesarean sections are seen as a status symbol among wealthy Brazilians, allowing them to forgo the strain and uncertainty that comes with natural childbirth.
And what was once considered a private event witnessed by medical staff and the mom-to-be's closest relatives is now becoming a full-blown festivity complete with hors d'oeuvres and wine for family and friends.
Party planners, caterers and makeup artists have even taken notice as expectant parents shell out to make the event as memorable as possible for everyone.
Estudio Matre, a party planning company, says its maternity customers spend up to $10,000 for services that come with flowers, guest books, exclusive sheets and chocolate and cake on silver trays.
Mothers-to-be at the private Sao Luis Hospital in Sao Paulo can even arrange to get their hair and makeup to done at the medical facility.
And for $500 a day, they can upgrade their rooms to a presidential suite which also includes a living room, minibar, balcony and bathroom for their own visitors.
And a new 22-story maternity ward under construction is set to include a ballroom and a wine cellar.
Hospital director Marcia da Costa likened the hype behind the Caesarean section deliveries to the upbringing her fellow citizens have grown accustomed to.
'It's cultural. Brazilians want to plan for everything. They don't want to hit traffic on the way to the hospital,' da Costa told the Washington Post.
'They want to get their nails done, get a wax, to plan it like an event.'
Guests at the Albert Einstein Maternity can happily await the birth of the child inside a room with frosted windows.
But the wall turns transparent as doctors deliver the baby, allowing those in the private quarter an up close and personal view as the birth process transpires.