Scars tell the story of where we have been and what we have gone through to get here. It doesn’t represent who we are, our worth, our beauty, or our values. Cesarean scars are no different. 

When a birth ends in a cesarean, it isn’t just the hours spent in labour or the trauma of what might have gone wrong that hang around for years to come. A deep scar that runs through the skin can be a metphor for everything that happened to bring a baby into this world.

We tend to shrug things off for other people so quickly: “Hey, you and your baby are alive. That’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter how they were born, they’re here. Be happy.” If you’re feeling that way, great. But if you’re not it’s important to take time to remember that healing is a process, on all levels.

Cesarean scars, like all other signs that the body has produced life, should be revered and honored. They can also be a source of pain, shame, guilt for so many.

Our bodies are magnificent, at every stage of our lives, but there is something really magical about the body that grows and births life.

You don’t need to love every inch of your body and it’s okay to feel uncomfortable with the way it looks after giving birth. That’s totally normal! Everyone has parts of their body that they absolutely adore and other parts that they don’t (let’s just say I’m glad I don’t have a full length mirror at home and I prefer not to see my butt!)

What do your scars say about you? What story do they tell?