Moms everywhere know that there’s no “right” way to give birth.
Still, a lot of expectant mamas have an idea in their heads about what the perfect birth looks like.
Some might want to go an all-natural route and have a midwife or a doula help them with the labor, while others might feel more comfortable with a hospital, a team of doctors, and an epidural on standby.
But at the end of the day, birth is a messy and unpredictable process, and it’s the tiny person entering the world who’s really calling the shots. If baby decides it’s time, you might end up delivering at the side of the road, like this intrepid mom who wasn’t afraid to go into labor all by herself.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is that, one way or another, the baby gets out!
And that’s exactly the point one powerful mama is making by sharing a dramatic picture of her c-section scar.
Read on below to learn more!
In October 2016, tough cookie mom Jodie Shaw shared a powerful picture with the Facebook group Birth Without Fear, which provides resources to expectant moms approaching childbirth.
Shaw's picture shows her own very dramatic c-section scar, which is a large vertical scar studded with medical staples — a testament to her uniquely difficult birth story.
In the text accompanying the picture, she explains that she's heard from other moms that a c-section doesn’t "count" as childbirth, and wants to put an end to that narrative!
"Please read before commenting.
"A new day, and what seems to be another new post from someone insinuating that giving birth by cesarean means that you didn't give birth.
“Can we please just stop!”
"I obviously can't change people's views, but I've decided to post this picture to see if it may make people understand that, despite what our birth plans might say, sometimes we don't get a choice.
"I didn't get a choice.
"I had a fibroid the size of a melon that sat on my cervix and a low lying placenta, which meant that I've been left with no ordinary c-section scar.
"But whether you believe this or not. I gave birth to my baby."
"So next time you judge someone for not doing what you consider to be 'giving birth,' please take a minute to think about why they may have had to deliver that way.
"Think about the fact that given the choice they probably wouldn't of chosen this but had no choice.
"Why would you choose a major operation and six weeks of recovery?"
"This scar saved me from losing a life-threatening amount of blood and meant my baby was brought into this world as she should be.
"Healthy and unharmed, as was I."
Her final point is the most important of all: every mom will do whatever she has to in order to deliver her child safely.
She delivered her baby without a problem; that's what really "counts," and a scar seems like a small price to pay!
How do you feel about c-sections? Do you think it's the same as giving birth?
Let us know in the comments and don't forget to SHARE this important message with moms and grandmoms everywhere!
