This Mom Wasn't Just Judged — She Was Discriminated Against — for Her C-Section Birth
A screen shot of a text message between a mom-to-be and a birth photographer is going viral as it's infuriating moms (and fellow birth photographers) across the internet.
In the upsetting conversation, an anonymous mom first reacts to what we assume was a previous message from the photographer refusing to capture her birth because it will be a C-section, not a vaginal delivery. "I didn't 'opt' for anything, but alright. I had no idea birth photographers discriminated people for how they birth their babies but that's good to know," the unnamed mom wrote.
"A surgery isn't a birth, my dear. You aren't giving birth. You are having surgery to remove your abdomen. That is not birth no matter how you swing it and I for one don't want to be there to take pictures of it," the photographer wrote. "If you decide to give motherhood a go from the get and have an actual birth, let me know and we can schedule your session. This motherhood job is hard, if I were you I would think twice . . . " Whether you've had a C-section or not, the photographer's response is upsetting and disrespectful to all moms who have brought a child into the world this way.
Not much is known about either person involved in this exchange, but one birth photographer is speaking out with an important message in response:
"I don't know either party, so I can't attest to the validity of this conversation, but I can say this:
Birth photographers love belly births. We believe cesarean mamas are strong, beautiful, and brave.
We watch as our clients are wheeled back into the OR. We see their chests rise and fall as their surgeons make their first cuts. Sometimes we see exhaustion, sometimes we see fear, sometimes we see relief, but we ALWAYS see strength. Then we capture the moments that those belly babies make their way out into our world. We find the same lust for life in those first, powerful cries. We get to see the hidden world of the womb . . . the colors, the vibrancy, the pulsing life . . . it's overwhelming. And then the reunion of parents and baby is just as sweet, just as powerful, just as poignant as a vaginal birth.
Anyone who says otherwise isn't a birth photographer. Period. End of story."
In Monet Nicole's experience of working with birth photographers around the world, she's never heard of anything even remotely close to this exchange. Instead, she's seen the work of birth photographers change hospital policies and grant more women more choice in their deliveries. "We love Cesarean births, we celebrate Cesarean births, and we'll continue to do so," she wrote on Facebook.