Pregnancy, Parenthood & Playtime

10 years ago, to think about an international organization, or a website designed to help women get through having a cesarean birth would have been completely unheard of. But with the rising cesarean section numbers, for a number of reasons across the board, the number of women unsatisfied, hurt, and damaged by their birth experience is also climbing.

After the birth of my first child by cesarean, which I still feel to this day was not a necessary or lifesaving procedure, I felt hurt, confused, and overly emotional. I did not know that there were other women out there that felt as I did. I had no one to relate to, no one to share my feelings with. Then I discovered ICAN. The International Cesarean Awareness Network, a international support group that helped me to deal with my negative feelings from the birth of my son, and strive to make a difference in my community helping women like myself who had these same feelings and experiences. I have been doing this for going on two years now, and it is rewarding, and has helped in my own personal recovery immensely.

As time goes on and I get more involved in the birth community, support systems, and other blogs which run along the same lines of what I write about, I learned about a website called BirthCut. A site focused on women who have had negative experiences with cesarean sections, and giving them a safe and comfortable environment to share their story, and use artwork to express their feelings. After viewing the website on several occasions, I met the creator Michele Demont of Danbury, through ICAN. What an inspiration to anyone who has been through the experience of a traumatic cesarean or birth in general.

Before I leave you, there is another organization I would like to praise for their work with cesarean mothers who have been hurt by their experience. Solace For Mothers is a great resource for any woman that has had a traumatic birth experience, whether it be a cesarean or not.

Not all mothers who have c-sections will feel this way, and many may even enjoy their experiences, but this should not discount the hurt that others may feel, and the same should go for any birth including a vaginal birth. Cesarean sections are amazing and lifesaving procedures when used appropriately and correctly, but at the increased numbers we are seeing today, some may be very unnecessary. A woman’s feelings regarding her birth should be respected, not put down.

To close, I would like to share a video of my two experiences.
I hope people can be mature enough to understand these are my experiences, and my experiences only.

My Birth Journeys

My Birth Journeys from Danielle Elwood on Vimeo.