A Personal Essay
C-Section Stigma is a Stain on Motherhood
That Will Just Not Quit
I woke up this morning to an unassuming tweet that pulled a trigger.
I Birthed in 20 Minutes, She Tweeted!
The tweet was a sort of birth announcement where the subject tweeted out how she birthed her baby in 20 minutes flat! This conjured up words and phrases that have since been associated with vaginal births, like natural. Because no birth of any kind that needs medical intervention can take place in that short amount of time.
I pondered whether or not to reply to the subject. After all, she did just have a baby and it wasn’t about me, or was it? I couldn’t help myself so I congratulated her, but not without mentioning the countless hours I had been in labour for my firstborn, and how I wear that, along with the additional hours, it took to birth my second and third-born son, as a badge of honour.
I am not sure when, or why, or how, our female birthing capabilities somehow added value to us as women and mothers. But it’s been going on for far too long. I am sure this woman did not mean to tweet this with any ill intent or to pull a trigger, but I do have to admit that I expect more from today’s women.
