Honestly, how is this a thing?!
We are all well aware of the concept of 'mum shaming.' Bizarre as it is, mums have been known to shame each other over different parenting methods, whether or not you go out to work once you are a mother or even when it comes to what type of food you are feeding your child.
And it seems it doesn't even stop there. Nope. You can even risk being shamed for the way in which your baby arrives into this world.
Recently, US mum Jesse Truelove hit back a 'mum trolls' who shame women for having their babies C-sections, saying all births should be celebrated.
The Missouri-based mum says she faced birth shaming firsthand after giving birth to both of her daughters via a caesarean.
"I guess I didn't realise how much C-section shaming there was until I got shamed myself," she explained. "Labor was not beneath me. I did that. I tried that for 26 hours.
"However women choose to birth their kids, at the end of the day, we're just mums trying to get out of the hospital with a healthy baby and there's no shame in that - no matter how you do it."
Her comments come after
a video she posted to Instagram supporting other C-section mums went viral.
In the video, the mum-of-two shares a series of clips from the operating theatre of her recent elective C-section, then bonding with daughter, River and the first few hours post-op. With each slide, she overlays it with a powerful message.
"For Mamas that choose repeat C-sections or emergency C-section mamas, lifting the heavy weight of shame from their shoulders just by bring this topic to the table," Jesse captioned the clip.
"We don't talk about this enough, obviously. So I will continue to. I am happy to take heat for this. Mamas... all mamas deserve support."
"You are a warrior. You made life. You brought that life into the world, the best way for you and that baby. There is no room for judgement or shame around that. Only love, support and pride," she writes.
"There is no EASY way to birth a human. I'm proud of you. Of all mothers. Of myself."
C-section shame
Truelove's powerful post soon went viral, and mums from across the globe commented, with many saying they have indeed both
been shamed and
felt shame over having given birth to their babies via a Caesarean section.
"Currently dealing with this. After my C-section, I felt like I was 'mourning' and I couldn't figure out why. Thank you for this," one mum wrote.
"As a C section mama myself, this is just what I needed to be reminded I'm not any less of a mum because of how my baby was born. Thank you for this!," another mother commented.
One mum wrote:
"I'm a first-time mama to a magical baby girl. I had an unplanned c-section. A few days after the birth, I had a conversation with someone I trusted and leaned on for support. She made me feel like I failed - that I didn’t do enough, that I could have potentially prevented a c-section. So thank you for this - needed to read this as I continue to heal."
So many mothers were touched by Truelove's message.
"
As a C section mama myself, this is just what I needed to be reminded I’m not any less of a mom because of how my baby was born. Thank you for this!"
