My Caesarean

As an OB nurse I found this fascinating and informative. I know and explain to my patients that they may go through a cycle of grieving after having a C section. This book provides some perspectives that I had not encountered in practice. This is going to be a must read for my students.

My Caesarean deftly explores these perspectives and many others. At turns, the essays address the history and current surgical trend of the caesarean, its impact on the mother’s body and postoperative realities, the psychological aftermath—which sometimes unfolds well after the birth of the child—and how to heal. A beautiful, much-needed meditation on the shared experience of C-section mothers, this collection pulls back the curtain on the quiet shame, social guilt, and possible trauma of C-section birth to offer comfort and acceptance through shared experience.

I never understood why some people have such a big issue with C-sections, it's still giving birth and more often than not it's necessary. I enjoyed reading these stories and I hope they empower more women who have had C-sections to not feel shame but pride for giving birth no matter what.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #MyCaesarean
Pub Date: 01 May 2019

As a Mama who had an emergency c-section myself, I was intrigued by the title and premise of this book. Wow! What a healing and fascinating read this was for me. My son is almost 9-years-old so I have had a lot of time to process and work through the loss of my dream birth center water birth. Reading the stories of others who have had cesareans, either intended or not, opened my eyes to so many experiences. My heart ached and I wanted to say "I know how you feel" to some, others enraged me, and others brought me deep peace and even joy.

I would suggest this for all birth and post-partum workers. I'd also suggest this for women who have had a cesarian themselves but would recommend you've had counseling and support as needed as some of the stories are quite vivid and may be triggering if you're still overcoming trauma. Cesarian birth is nowhere near as discussed or quite frankly celebrated, and this helped me to feel more part of a community than I ever have in regards to my birth journey.

This is put together incredibly well and with obvious thought and care. An excellent read.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book.

I wish this book was available when I had my first traumatic C-section in 2010. I would have felt less alone. This is an incredible collection of essays and should be given to every women departing the hospital after a C-section, elective or otherwise. I've had four C-sections (each one better than the previous one) -- this book covers a variety of experiences and is well written.