The C-Section Experience: Honoring a Different Kind of Birth

A Blog Feature for C-Section Awareness Month | Growing Together: Mind, Body, and Baby | The C-Section Experience Podcast

When we talk about birth, we often picture a single story. But there are many paths to motherhood and for one in three women in the U.S., that path includes a cesarean birth. This feature honors those mothers by spotlighting two powerful voices: Jennifer Wagner, M.D. and Bethany Scott, R.N., co-hosts of The C-Section Experience Podcast. Together, they’re reshaping the narrative around cesarean births through medicine, motherhood, and meaning.

Mind: Shifting the Narrative & Embracing the Journey

“Perspective is everything.” Dr. Jen’s words echo what many C-section mothers come to realize often after deep reflection, sometimes through tears, but always with courage. As an anesthesiologist and mother of two (one born via C-section, the other by VBAC) she’s felt the weight of decisions and the emotional spectrum of birth. Her firsthand experiences challenged her to think beyond the textbook, to see motherhood through a softer, more human lens.

Bethany, a nurse, doula, and bereaved mother turned fierce advocate, brings a voice that’s both raw and resilient. Her story, shaped by profound loss, overwhelming anxiety, and eventual healing through a planned C-section, reminds us how layered and deeply personal birth can be. It’s not always about what we planned; sometimes it’s about what we survive.

Too often, C-section moms carry the weight of emotional dismissal. The “at least the baby is healthy” response can erase the mother’s story in an instant. Bethany and Jen both emphasized how that lack of validation cuts deep. The truth is, when a mother’s feelings are brushed aside, her healing is often delayed.

Research from the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing (2022) backs this up, confirming the link between emotional invalidation and higher risk for postpartum depression. But data only tells part of the story. What matters even more is how many women nod in silent agreement when they hear these words.

“My scar holds both heartbreak and pride,” Bethany says. It’s not just a mark, it’s a memory. Of what could’ve been, of what was, and of what still is: strength. Storytelling becomes the bridge between what we experienced and how we move forward. It invites us to grieve and grow at the same time.

A 2021 study in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth supports this healing power. But more than that, it’s the shared sigh of relief when a mom hears someone else say, “Me too.”

Body: Healing After Surgery: Physically and Energetically

C-section recovery is a balancing act: rest, but move. Care for your baby, but don’t forget yourself. “Recovery isn’t linear,” says Dr. Jen. “It’s not a race.”

And yet, we treat it like one. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), full recovery from a cesarean can take up to 12 weeks, or longer. But postpartum care in the U.S. typically wraps up in just six. Too often, women are left to navigate healing while juggling newborn care, physical pain, and emotional overwhelm.

Dr. Jen shares that her first cesarean caught her off guard; not because of the birth itself, but the unexpected intensity of the healing that followed. She was no stranger to surgery from a clinical standpoint, yet experiencing it personally stripped her of certainty and exposed her vulnerability. She describes moments of frustration, pain, and a sense of disorientation in her own body. Feelings many mothers never get the chance to say out loud.

That’s why she and Bethany advocate for integrative recovery, supporting the body with both modern medicine and ancient wisdom. While Dr. Jen found pharmaceutical pain management essential, she acknowledges the need for other healing tools: bodywork, acupuncture, breathwork, warm compresses, and simply, space to slow down. These aren’t just add-ons; they are healing strategies that acknowledge the whole woman.

Bethany brings another critical lens: trauma. Her perspective as a doula and nurse allows her to see what clinical systems often miss. “Trauma can live in the scar,” she says, “if a mother never had space to process her experience.” Too many mothers are praised for “bouncing back” instead of being encouraged to break down, feel, and then rebuild. Unspoken pain doesn’t go away, it burrows deeper.

New research in Frontiers in Psychology (2023) backs her up, linking unresolved birth trauma to higher levels of postpartum PTSD. But healing happens when we feel safe, seen, and supported. That’s what this podcast, and this conversation, seeks to create.

Baby: Bonding, Microbiome & Gentle Alternatives

For many C-section moms, the first moments with their baby may not unfold the way they dreamed. The gentle hush of golden hour might be replaced with bright lights, separated spaces, or the anxious wait to be reunited. And yet, bonding is not defined by a single moment. It’s something that grows.

Bethany and Dr. Jen are both passionate about reclaiming those early moments, no matter how they begin. Dr. Jen recalls the power of even a brief touch in the OR; her fingers brushing her baby’s cheek before the nurses took her to the warmer. It wasn’t skin-to-skin, but it was connection. That counts.

When immediate bonding isn’t possible, they encourage mothers to carve out space for it later: in the recovery room, at home, during a quiet feeding. “Start where you are,” Bethany says. “Bonding is not a deadline, it’s a relationship.”

A 2022 study in the Infant Mental Health Journal found that mothers who experienced delayed bonding often caught up emotionally with their babies within three months postpartum, when given proper support. The key is compassion, not perfection.

As for microbiome concerns, many mothers worry about what C-section birth means for their baby’s immune system. Emerging science continues to explore this. Dr. Jen notes that while vaginal seeding is being studied, foundational practices like exclusive breastfeeding, skin-to-skin, and probiotic support offer meaningful ways to nurture baby’s health. A 2023 Nature Microbiology review suggests that while cesarean delivery can shift microbial development, it’s not a fixed outcome, it can be influenced by nurturing care.

The story doesn’t end with the first breath. It unfolds every day; with every cuddle, every feeding, every quiet moment shared.

Advocacy: Rewriting Birth Culture with Compassion

What if we framed C-section birth not as a deviation, but as a valid, courageous expression of motherhood?

That’s exactly what Dr. Jen and Bethany are doing. They’re dismantling outdated narratives by asking better questions like: Why do we treat cesarean birth like failure when it often represents strength and survival?

Dr. Jen encourages every mother to reclaim her role as an active participant in her care by asking, simply: “Why?” Why was this intervention chosen? Why wasn’t I presented with more options? Why do I still feel unsure? These questions are not confrontational, they are clarifying. And in birth, clarity is empowering.

Informed consent should be ongoing, not a one-time form, but a dialogue that extends into postpartum care. As Dr. Jen explains, “We need to stop treating C-section recovery as something to quietly get through, and start treating it as something worthy of real care.”

Bethany adds, “When a mother knows she can ask questions, she reclaims her power. She becomes more than a patient. She becomes a participant.” That shift, from passive to empowered, can completely transform a birth story, even one that veers far from the plan.

Growing Together: How We Support Mothers After Cesarean Birth

Recovery does not happen in isolation. It happens in community. And in the fragile days that follow a cesarean, community support becomes a lifeline.

Bethany beautifully calls it “presence with purpose.” Whether it’s a partner helping mom sit up for the first time, a friend folding laundry without being asked, or a doula sitting beside her, gently listening; these actions matter. They whisper: you’re not alone.

Both Dr. Jen and Bethany stress that support must go beyond baby care. Mothers need help processing their birth experience, setting boundaries, accessing lactation support, and getting adequate rest. In a culture that praises productivity, rest becomes a radical act of self-preservation.

Postpartum doulas, meal trains, and honest conversations can all be part of that support system. And so can small gestures like changing a diaper, holding the baby while mom showers, offering a snack, or simply saying: “You are doing something extraordinary.”

And for the mothers themselves? Know this: You did not fall short. You rose up. You birthed through fear, through uncertainty, through surgery, and you are here. That is not missing out. That is resilience.

Final Thoughts

At Growing Together: Mind, Body, and Baby, we believe there’s no one way or “right way” to birth, only your way. Cesarean birth is real birth. It’s brave, it’s valid, and it deserves to be honored.

Let’s rewrite the story together.

Sources Cited:

ACOG. (2021). Cesarean Birth Recovery. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. (2021). Birth storytelling and postpartum resilience.

Complementary Therapies in Medicine. (2023). Acupuncture in post-cesarean pain management.

Infant Mental Health Journal. (2022). Post-cesarean bonding and emotional adjustment.

Frontiers in Psychology. (2023). Psychological effects of unprocessed birth trauma.

Nature Microbiology. (2023). Microbiome differences by mode of delivery.

JOGNN. (2022). Postpartum support disparities after cesarean birth.

Want to hear more from Dr. Jen and Bethany? Check out The C-Section Experience Podcast for real, raw, and radically honest stories that uplift and empower.