Mother’s honest Facebook post explains why a C-section is not the ‘easy way out’

'There seems to be an odd assumption that it's some sort of magical, pain-free alternative'

(iStock (Getty/iStockphoto)

A mother-of-two has criticised people who think having a caesarean is the “easy way out” when it comes to giving birth.

It’s considered one of the most painful experiences a human can endure, so why don’t all women opt to have a C-section?

After all, it’s far less agonising, avoids any tearing and is so much safer, right?

Not according to Sophie McCartney from Warrington, a mummy blogger and parody writer who has shared some very blunt words about her own C-section delivery.

Alongside a “bloody” and “furious” photograph of her daughter just moments after being delivered by emergency caesarean, McCartney explains in a Facebook post that she had been in labour for 16 hours and endured 45 minutes of pushing before being told her birth would not end in the natural delivery she had hoped for.

She then refers to a recent conversation she had with a friend, who yet to have children of her own, joked that when she gave birth she would be opting for the “easy way out” – choosing caesarean over natural.

“I don’t blame her for this mentality in the slightest,” McCartney writes.

“It’s just one of those misconceptions people have before they find themselves in a certain situation. But, is it really the easy way out?”

The mother-of-two continues her candid post by exposing the reality of undergoing a C-section.

“You still have to undergo major surgery…awake. And once it’s over and you’ve gone through the horror of not being able to feel your legs for a couple of hours, what then?”

Listing a catalogue of consequences including having a painful catheter, bloodied surgical stockings, a suppository and the physical damage of being left with a “C-section shelf”, McCartney highlights the mental trauma some women can experience too, herself included.

“The photograph with this post is now one of my favourites, but it didn’t used to be,” she explains.

“It used to be a memento of my failings…a reminder that I hadn’t done things ‘properly.’

“At the time, there was a rational part of my brain saying, ‘It doesn’t matter how she arrived, she’s alive.’ However, there was also a louder non-rational part that harboured feelings of guilt and inferiority.

“Reflectively - if nature had done as it intended my children and I wouldn’t be here, so what’s the point in feeling guilty about that? I should feel lucky, and now I finally do.”

McCartney ends her brutally honest post by explaining that there’s no easy way to give birth and that if mother and baby come out of it healthy, happy and alive, the delivery method shouldn’t really matter.

The post has since received more than 6,000 reactions, 3,000 shares and been flooded with comments from parents thanking McCartney for sharing her delivery story.

“There is no easy way out in labour and childbirth. Vaginal delivery or C-section, we are all bloody awesome,” one person wrote.

Another added, “Thank you for posting this and making many mummy’s realise that they are not the only one and they’re not alone.”