One blogger and mom of two has something to say to those who say having a C-section is taking the “easy way out” when it comes to giving birth.
Olivia White, the face behind the House of White blog, posted a selfie just hours after giving birth via C-section — but this isn’t any old selfie. This particular photo featured her scar front and center while White was lying in her hospital bed.
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“This is what you really look like a few hours post c-section,” the Aussie wrote in the caption. “To anyone who thinks it’s the easy way out, well try having a 6 inch gash in your abdomen like a gutted sharkwho had the body parts of the surferit ate retrieved! […] After [the medication wears off] it’s like you’ve been hit by a buswhich then backed over you just to make sure it didn’t miss you the first time!”
Even amid all the suffering — and dealing with the “kangaroo pouch” — White knows she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“But for all the skin tight Kookai dresses I bought while pregnantthat now make me look like I have a Kangaroo pouch – I wouldn’t change it! Because if it wasn’t for the ability to deliver my babiesthis way they might not be here today,” she wrote.
White isn’t the only mom sharing the “honest” side of pregnancy. Check out these other moms who want you to know what being a mother is really like.
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Amanda Bacon
In what is now considered the Facebook post heard ’round the world, new mom Amanda Bacon appears in the background of her gorgeous baby wearing a “giant mom diaper.” The photo is less than flattering, but it’s part of an essential conversation about postpartum bodies that just doesn’t get discussed (probably because it’s not glamorous).
“Having a baby is a beautiful experience,” she explains, “and the realities of postpartum life aren’t spoken enough about. And definitely not photographed enough.”
Marissa Fearon
Though she’s fit as hell, Marissa Fearon doesn’t shy away from showing the parts of her body that didn’t bounce back after giving birth to her three kids… and we love her for that.
As she said in the caption for this photo, “Even when I get called disgusting, that my stomach is ugly, I will never stop being proud of it. Haters will never bring me down, judgemental people will never change me.”
Abigail Wedlake
Although Wedlake’s hair and makeup are always on point, she’s not afraid to flaunt the “imperfect” parts of her body, either.
Wedlake posts pictures of her midsection, stretch marks and all, alongside her precious baby girl, unashamed of the marks she left on her body.
Stephanie Rothstein
Rothstein’s Insta feed is usually a steady stream of running photos and videos, but she’s also passionate about loving her entire body — and that includes her stretch marks.
“When I look down I see stretch marks that are here to stay, ab muscles that need continued strengthening, legs that are powerful and feet that are ready to fly!” she wrote alongside the photo below. Those stretch marks are just proof of the amazing things her body can do.
Kathy DiVencenzo
One mom used two powerful photos to portray that pregnancy and childbirth don’t just leave a mark on your body — but they can affect your mental health as well.
In one picture, Kathy DiVencenzo is the ultimate Pinterest mom with a perfectly clean playroom and a chic, styled outfit—the picture of calm and composure. In the other, however, she looks as if she’s hanging on by a thread—wild hair, a room strewn with toys, and a half-on nursing bra.
DiVencenzo explains the struggles that come with postpartum depression: “The truth is, both of these pictures represent my life depending on the day,” she writes. “I would only ever comfortably share one of these realities though and that’s the problem… work twice as hard to hide this reality from you because I’m afraid to make you uncomfortable.”
Ruth Lee
After a particularly difficult delivery, beauty blogger Ruth Lee says she was “horrified” by the photo of her stomach.
“I took this picture a few days after I gave birth, when my PPD [postpartum depression] really first reared its head into my life,” Lee wrote. “I took this and actually was horrified. I couldn’t believe it was me. I’m sharing it because I know in my heart that there are people out there that struggle with inadequacy. That might think they are not beautiful, that they might be ruined, less worthy, or not good enough.”
Lee says she was disheartened when her body didn’t immediately “bounce back” like pregnant models she’d seen on Instagram. She wants to inspire others to be kind to themselves and their bodies instead of comparing themselves to others.
“Yours might not actually be physical scars, but maybe, a failed relationship, a difficulty in your career, a mental struggle, money issues, or just feeling lost in life. Be kind to yourself. And know that you are not alone. Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t let social media taint your view of what is beautiful, what is REAL. And above all, know that if you are struggling, I am here.”
Dr. Jham Frank Lugo’s ‘Gentle C-Section’
“Gentle C-sections” are designed to make a C-section birth a little less surgical — for example, the mother is propped up slightly so that she can watch the baby come out. The baby is even placed on her chest afterwards, just like a vaginal birth, allowing for immediate skin-to-skin contact you wouldn’t see in a typical C-section.
Dr. Jham Frank Lugo, the founder of a fertility clinic in Maracay, Venezuela, frequently posts videos of gentle C-sections on Instagram. *Warning: If your stomach tends to lean on the queasy side, you might not want to be eating while you watch.*
How’s that for what a C-section really looks like?
Sabrina Ewell
Postpartum body struggles are the real deal, but mom Sabrina Ewell decided to embrace her postpartum body in an amazing way with a stunning Instagram post full of raw emotion and a new perspective on beauty and loving your body as a mother.
So this is me… in all my 19 year postpartum glory… I thought this was baggage for so many years,” Ewell wrote in the caption. “But I’ve been on a journey of self-discovery for the last 2 years, and the universe has lined me up with thoughts, circumstances, and people that have allowed me to connect with my authentic self.”
“I want women to embrace and love themselves, focusing on all their haves and not the have nots. I want to help open up society’s view on normality and diversity. Seeing photos like this in media gives women the permission to be exactly who they are without having to compromise themselves,” Ewell said. “Do you know how many years of self-doubt I could have avoided if I saw a tummy that looked anything like mine on tv or the Internet?”
Kari Horn
A year after giving birth to her son via an emergency C-section, Kari Horn was experiencing major pain from a golf ball-size bulge located right about her belly button. She was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia, which is a condition where a part of the intestine pops through the umbilical opening in the abdominal muscles.
In January, Kari had surgery to repair the hernia and that’s when her doctors realized she was suffering from two other hernias as well. She continues to recover from both her C-section and hernia surgeries, but still experiences stabbing pains.
She shared her experience on Instagram posting a photo of her stomach with the caption, “The parts of motherhood they don’t talk about much.”
In her post, she wrote about the other unfortunate issues she has had to deal with because of the hernias. Her biggest concern is that she will always be in pain, but that will not bring her down.
“Don’t hate on yourselves, ladies,” she wrote. “You’re beautiful no matter how many scars you get.”
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