I’m seven weeks postpartum and still getting over how my OB referred to a C-section as “the C-word” throughout my 30-hour induction.
Spoiler alert: I ended up needing one anyway.
So, what’s the big deal? When you’re exhausted and contracting in a hospital bed — with monitors beeping from a distressed baby’s heart rate — the last thing you want to hear is that your possible birth outcome is a dirty word.
I was too tired to push back on this language in real-time. Frankly, I wanted to stay on the medical team’s good side if they were handling my guts soon.
But it made me think: why are literal medical doctors pushing an agenda of fear around such an ordinary and necessary birth? Why is the only discourse around C-section births about negativity and avoidance, both online and in the L&D room?
Read “Issue #2: Is this…gaslighting?” for more on birth story stigmas.
What doc says
I wanted to get insight on C-sections from an OBGYN who wasn’t directly involved in my medical care. Luckily, one of my good friends is one.
Meet Aakriti R. Carrubba, MD, Assistant Professor of OBGYN & Senior Associate Consultant in Gynecology at Mayo Clinic Florida. She’s also a mom to two boys (both born via C-section). Here’s what she had to say about “the C-word” stigma.
“Women spend months planning their perfect birth experience, sometimes including a personalized hospital gown, ‘take-home’ outfit for baby, newborn photoshoot, birth plan, and even a music playlist,” Carrubba said. “But the birth experience is anything but perfect, and it is highly unpredictable. Babies will come when ready, with only 57% delivering between 39 and 40 weeks.”
What can lead to a C-section?
C-sections are not rare. Sometimes they’re planned for various reasons, but they are often unplanned. 31.8% of babies were born via Cesarean section in the U.S. in 2020.
Carrubba explains: “In the last few weeks of pregnancy, it is common for women to have Braxton-Hicks contractions, premature rupture of membranes, elevated blood pressure, etc. Labor itself can result in fetal distress (meaning changes to the fetal heart tracing), arrest in cervical dilation, or inability to push the baby out once dilation is complete. These conditions can result in the need for a Cesarean section, and sometimes that decision has to be made quickly.”
As you can imagine, events leading to a C-section decision bring about a flurry of activity and communication—the words used in a medical setting matter.
“It is important for healthcare providers to explain why a Cesarean section may be needed, while also validating that this is a perfectly acceptable way to deliver a baby.”
Carrubba’s profession means she knows a lot about the female anatomy, pregnancy, and Caesarian births — but it’s different living through it yourself.
“In my first pregnancy, I needed an emergency Cesarean section due to fetal distress during the induction process,” she said. “Even as an OBGYN provider who has performed hundreds of these surgeries myself, I was devastated and felt like I had done something wrong.”
Carrubba said her birth team was calm and supportive, which gave her space to think despite the need to act quickly to expedite the delivery.
“Upon seeing my healthy baby and hearing that first wailing scream, all my worries washed away. I planned an elective repeat C-section for my second pregnancy (which had to be done emergently a week early) and felt confident that this was the right decision for me and my baby.”
TL:DR: C-sections are so common that a third of your mom friends have had one. OBs should use medically appropriate and encouraging language vs. confusing nicknames that enforce stigmas. And finally, the goal of birth is to have a baby, and that is beautiful no matter how they get here.
What was your experience with a C-section and the stigmas, whether from internet mom culture or in a medical setting?
My first birth was a c-section because of infant distress. My second was also a c-section because my insurance would not approve a VBAC, despite recommendations from my OBGYN that I was an ideal candidate. I carried so much shame and anger and countless other feelings around my birthing experiences. I appreciate this piece about the importance of validating EVERY birthing experience. I recently wrote a creative non-fiction piece about my womb, my birth trauma and sexual assault, which was published by Oranges: https://www.orangesjournal.com/mental-health/wombed-by-jen-fischer