I never used to think I gave birth to my children. They were born, obviously. They came from my body, and are now happy and thriving. But it took me years to reconcile with the way they were born, and my role (or lack thereof) in bringing them into this world.

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This mom pulled her baby out during her C-section?and the photos are extraordinary! That?s because both my kids were born by emergency C-section. Those cold, sterile and scary surgeries were bitter pills to swallow after my crunchy granola pregnancies and subsequent attempts at drug-free vaginal births. For years I?ve mourned my births, grappling with a sense of failure and shame. And while I?m trying hard to overcome those feelings of loss, the way we tend to talk about C-sections makes that hard. You see, the language we use to differentiate between vaginal births and Caesarians robs C-section moms of any sense of ownership over how their children were born. ?Natural birth? implies that C-section births are ?unnatural.? Women whose babies are born vaginally give birth, whereas women whose babies are born via surgery have a C-section. Vaginal births are something you accomplish; Caesarians are something that happen to you. See the distinction"
It may seem like splitting hairs, but to...