Rebecca Gruber had her two boys via C-section, and it was her choice both times.
At 39-and-a-half weeks pregnant, Rebecca went into hospital for her weekly checkup. There, she was told that her baby was in the breech position.
Given that the baby was measuring large and she was so far along, her doctor wanted to do a C-section before she went into labour and became an emergency.
"I burst into tears," Rebecca wrote on Popsugar. "Not because I wouldn't experience the birth plan that I had in my head (I really didn't have one), but because I wasn't prepared to have a baby that day."
"I figured if I had gone into labour, I'd have at least a few hours to mentally prepare."
Given her emotional state, the doctor gave Rebecca a 20-hour reprieve, and arranged for the C-section to take place the next morning instead.
And before long, her baby boy was born.
"He was healthy, I was healthy, and the whole process was easy," she said.
But after a few conversations with people, she quickly realised that the C-section stigma abounded still.
"I write this as I sit here looking at a photo of my two happy boys goofing around on the beach. At 8 and 5 years old, I'm well past the stage of sharing birth stories on a regular basis. But when you meet new parents, that's often where the conversation turns," she wrote.
"They usually share their story first and then ask you to share yours. This is how the conversation usually goes once I say I had a C-section: 'How long were you in labour before they took you in?' 'I wasn't. I never felt a contraction. My baby was breech, and the doctor said this was the safest option.'"
"'You didn't even try?' 'No, it wasn't a question of trying. It had more to do with the doctor trying to keep both the baby and me safe.' 'You must have been disappointed. 'Uh, yeah. Sure.'"
"The truth is, no, I wasn't, and I'm still not disappointed. Not for one second."
Rebecca knows that the decision she made was the right one for her and for her baby, and she refuses to feel ashamed as a result.
"No, I never felt a contraction, and no, I don't have a pushing and crowning story, but I do have a birth story, and I'm proud to tell it," she wrote.
A few years later, when she was halfway through her second pregnancy, Rebecca began discussing natural births, and as her due date drew nearer, they decided that it wasn't "the safest option" for her.
With this in mind, Rebecca elected to have another caesarean.
"I scheduled my surgery ahead of time, made plans for my older son, and walked to the hospital (we only lived two blocks away) with my C-section plan in mind."
Her second baby was born healthy, just like her first, and once again, she has no regrets about how she brought him into the world.
"Some women's C-sections are emergencies, occurring after hours (sometimes days) of labour. Some are planned well in advance, and some, like my first, just happen," she wrote.
She went on to say that, despite how common C-sections are, women are still being shamed for not having their children 'naturally.'
"Can't we agree that if you have a healthy baby in your arms, you didn't do anything wrong and you don't have anything to apologise for?," she wrote.
"I shouldn't have to wear a scarlet letter - and neither should my kids - for giving birth to a healthy child."
"Because when our kids are on the playground together, can you look at them and distinguish how each was born?"
What fabulous words, and full of truth. How a child got here shouldn't matter. The point is they're here and they're healthy and happy.
SHARE if you can relate.
