Cesarean Birth, and Stories from Moms Who Experienced them.
There is so much pressure put on mothers! We need to be perfect. We need to nurture perfectly, live perfectly, discipline perfectly, look perfect, act perfect, and we need to birth perfectly. Here are some stories from real women who have had a cesarean. These stories have taken an incredible amount of courage to share. Their voices matter.
Lauren
When asked about society’s view on cesarean, Lauren, an Oklahoma doula said, “You are lazy, less of a woman, or “too posh to push.” A lot of society minimizes the negative impact [a cesarean can have.] All that matters is a healthy baby.” Because of society’s disregard for the emotional impact her cesarean caused her, Lauren was left with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety. “Honestly I feel like a broken failure of a woman. I’m still healing from the trauma of my births.”
Birth pictures from Lauren. The Epitome of emotion, strength, love, and self-sacrifice.
Nastashia
Nastashia, a stay at home mom from Illinois shares her thoughts about her two cesarean births: “After having two c-sections, I never felt belittled by society for having the surgeries. My OB made me believe that they were medically necessary for my children to survive.” She goes on to say,”I think fear is the largest pressure put on women regarding birth. Fear and ignorance. I feel that society downplays the risks of a cesarean. They can be medically necessary and life saving (for mother and child) but such a high percentage aren’t. It is a major abdominal surgery and comes with risks to mother and baby.”
Nastashia went on to have a VBA2C, (a vaginal birth after two cesareans.) “My vba2c was beyond healing for me. I felt empowered. My body is not a lemon. I am capable of pushing a child out of my vagina. Even though it was drilled into my head for years that it could never happen. The OB that attended my vba2c was immensely supportive and is just as supportive now for my second vba2c. I am incredibly lucky to have found a medical professional that practices evidence based care and supports the decisions I have made through my own research.”
Here is the incredible strength, healing, and empowerment of Nastashia’s incredible VBA2C, and her baby’s first latch.
Tiffany
Tiffany, a birth doula from Virginia, wants moms to know that a cesarean is still a birth! She spoke of her birth experience and said: “I had an amazing support group. I also understood , through education, that I needed a cesarean. And so I grieved my loss of home and even vaginal birth but I was also thankful for modern medicine.” When asked about what she was doing to heal from her cesarean experience she said she has been, “Giving myself grace. Lots of nutritious food. Massaging my scar has been by far the best healing emotionally and physically. I had a lot of pain in my scar and the massaging helped so much. It was emotionally difficult at first but has become better”
Tiffany’s scar, after healing.(Left)
Janet
Janet, a beautiful mother and crafter from Oklahoma, wants to tell new moms who have had cesareans that: “You are strong, amazing women. It is major surgery and not easy to deal with. You did what you felt was best for the safety of your baby and we are warriors!”
We are all Beautiful and Perfect!
What is perfect other than a relative, generic term used to describe society’s idea about how we should carry ourselves? Is a woman who gave birth via cesarean any less “perfect” than a woman who gave birth vaginally? The answer is “NO.” We are all perfect and we are all beautiful. These incredible, strong women have more than proved that point. There is no shame in cesarean, ALL MOMS are superheros!
Below I have included links to VBAC and Cesarean Support options and Groups for Oklahoma. Anyone who is looking for support nationally should visit ICAN’s website!
Oklahoma City VBAC Support Group
ICAN Facebook page of Central Oklahoma
ABOUT THE A
UTHOR:
Brittany started her journey of helping women in 2012, as a pregnancy consultant. She was certified as a Birth and Bereavement Doula through Stillbirthday in 2015 and gained certification as a Gena Kirby Rebozo Doula later that year. She is the Birth Doula for modern women. She is intuitive and open-minded; she is attentive and ready to support everyone. Brittany received over 800 hours of advanced training in the practice of massage therapy in her quest as a healer, and is continually researching and attending training in the art of holistic health and wellness. She volunteers with the Oklahoma Birth Trauma Support Group for mothers and families who have experienced birth trauma and pregnancy loss. She lives in Oklahoma City with her husband and four children.
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