By Hayley Zemontas
For all the c-section mothers
willingly cleaved apart,
who dreamed of ‘natural’ labour
with all your stubborn heart.
This truly has no bearing
on how brave or strong you are.
Remember you’re a warrior
with a precious battle scar
And new life is a phenomena
no matter how it starts.
Whether you bore down
and pushed with all your might,
or lay terrified and trembling
as the surgeons tugged and spliced.
Whether helped by a kind surrogate
or adopted your child with pride;
either way, you are a mother
who chose to brave the fight.
Who made the best decisions
solely for your babies lives.
But this is for the c-section mothers
who’ve felt the needle’s spike,
who’ve curled tight as a shell
as it pushed between your spine.
The ones with legs of jelly
weak and heavy from the climb.
Those who’ve grieved the feeling
of your baby cocooned inside
even though, within your arms
all the planets have now aligned.
I’m here to remind you now
there’s nothing greater upon earth,
no matter how it happened,
nothing as beautiful as birth.
So don’t let anyone take that beauty away.
Be proud of your story, every single day.
Because birth is birth, any how,
any way.
Hayley Zemontas is a first-time mum to twin girls. She loves writing poetry and finds it very therapeutic. You can find her on her Facebook page.
