What do you see when you look at this cover photo? The miracle of life with a beautiful scar as a reminder of the experience, or a controversial image promoting C-sections (or, even, somehow – in the most depressing minds – insinuating soft-core porn)?
The fact that the second option (we’re not going to mention the third choice again) is even out there is fairly mind-blowing.
But a powerful image of a mother and her 3-day-old baby that has been shared from her photographer’s Facebook page has gone viral and caused quite a stir in the social media universe along the way.
The subject of the photo is an unnamed woman who was frightened of going through with her C-section before she had no choice but to do so.
Some of the reaction to the image has been overwhelmingly supportive and positive, especially from mothers that have been through similar experiences, but a large amount of criticism has also been hurled, with statements claiming C-sections are an easy way out and some even calling the photo a form of ‘pornography’.
Helen Carmina, the photographer shared with the Mirror, “I can’t believe the amount of women that are ashamed of their scars and are made to feel like they haven’t done the job properly because they didn’t give birth naturally. I feel proud that an image I created has allowed so many people to open up about their experiences and change the way they feel about something they should only feel pride for.”
In such a fast-moving society where information is criticized as quickly as it can be shared, it’s a shame that images encouraging self-love get so twisted.
Instead of this new mother who went through a life-saving operation feeling support from the world for creating a life that will leave her with an everlasting scar, backlash from people that most likely have never gone through something similar pours out as easily as water from a glass.
While C-sections remain a sensitive topic for many, at the end of the (long, laborious) day, it’s the mother that should feel the right to choose the best option not only for herself but also for her baby without being scared of being judged. It’s the most intimate moment a woman will experience in her life and it’s no one’s business how it’s done, how it’s shared, and how it leaves you looking in the end.
Since being posted, the image has been viewed more than 11.5million times and liked by nearly 200,000 people.
Hopefully it will encourage more mother’s that have gone through C-sections to embrace and be proud of their bodies, their scars, and their decisions.
[ad_bb1]