For some reason, there's a pervasive idea among those who've never had a c-section that having doctors cut a hole into your body and then pull out a baby is somehow the "easy way out" of childbirth.
FYI: It isn't — and moms who have had one or more c-sections are here to shut that way of thinking down. The latest example is Australian mom blogger Mel Watts, who took to Instagram last week to share a photo of her infected c-section scar.
"Infected Caesarean section life," she wrote. "Sometimes it doesn't matter how clean you keep it or how many you've had, there is always that chance you'll become one of the statistics. With a nursing background the idea of this happening freaked me out, seriously I think of the wound tracking up into my uterus causing me to have internal uterus rupture [which isn't even a thing] and by the time I get found unconscious of course I'd have a dehisced wound..... Okay that's not going to happen. I'm on antibiotics and being extremely anal, however I shouldn't have googled Caesarean section wound infections."
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Her post may just seem like a woman lamenting her infection (and the relatable struggle of diagnosing yourself via Google), but Watts also tagged the post #easywayout, sarcastically pointing out the fact that having a c-section is not easy.
In fact, the American Pregnancy Association says that the healing process after giving birth can be more difficult for those who had a c-section than those who delivered vaginally. Any time someone births a tiny human — whether "naturally" or by c-section — it does some damage on their body. So, let's face the facts: There is no easy way out.
Refinery29 has reached out to Watts, and will update this post if we receive a response.