Customer Reviews

Cesarean Voices

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"You should be thankful that you and the baby are okay--100 years ago you both could have died!" I cannot remember how many times I heard that after my first cesarean. It totally discounted how I felt, what I was going through. It made me feel guilty for crying in the shower--after all, wasn't I happy to finally have my baby? So what if she ended up in the NICU and I couldn't hold her for her first 14 hours...I finally found a book that speaks to my experiences--the joy, the guilt, the bitterness, the aloneness. I totally recommend Cesarean Voices to anyone who is not totally happy with their birth experiences--be prepared to cry.
I also LOVE the artwork. When I got pregnant after my cs, my husband didn't understand how I felt, why I wanted to VBAC, but I had found some of the artist's work on-line, and showed him that. She was able to put my feelings into her artwork somehow, and he was able to understand where I was coming from and why I was willing to fight for my VBAC.

I actually have a paragraph or two of my story in there. I wrote it after my second horrible unnecessary c-section, but "healthy baby." And what I wrote wasn't even a fourth of what I went through then (infection in the scar, rehospitalized, open wound for many months, large hernia, horrible pain, blood transfusion, and more). BUT now, I can add the ultimate "voice"...with my third, I had a uterine rupture and placental abruption (risks after having cesareans) and my baby boy was born still, not breathing, dead. I also almost died and had to be revived. I can never have children biologically again. This book is especially important for first time moms to read. Don't let your doctor dupe you into an unnecessary c-section! Especially if you ever want to have more children, or it's even a remote possiblity. Don't risk your life and your babies for no good reason. Get the facts! Please!

If it weren't for stories like these, I don't know how I would have survived that first year after my c-section. I desperately needed to know that the unexpected feelings I had about it were not unusual. Not everyone has negative feelings about their c-sections, but for those who have doubts that they can't quite put their finger on (like I did), this is a landmark book. I also found it to be a very helpful tool in explaining my experiences with other people.

This books shares real women's experiences with cesarean surgery. I have experienced very similar pain to these women after both of my cesarean's. I wish I would have been more informed about cesarean's before my first birth, maybe it would have turned out different.

After my cesarean, I felt like I was crazy. I hated my surgery. I was depressed and traumatized. It wasn't until I found the women of ICAN that I realised that I wasn't alone. That it was possible to love my child while hating how she came into the world. 'Cesarean Voices' was written by real women. It is full of their stories, why they hated their cesareans, and why they never want to do it again. So if you've had a cesarean, are thinking of having a cesarean, know someone who had a cesarean, and ESPECIALLY if you think a cesarean can't happen to you, you need to read this book!

I waited many years to see these words in print. I knew these voices were out there and needed to be heard. I can fully relate to almost all of these women. My cesarean left me feeling brutalized and abused by a system that is suppose to be trustworthy. Our present system does NOT have the best interests of our newborns or their mother's in mind. This IS WHAT IS HAPPENING. Please, no more denials. After you read this book, you will fully understand why ICAN is here and why we volunteer and work so diligently. Voices...finally in print.

Should be read by every expectant parent, and by everyone who may ever come into contact with a new mother-to-be. This books shows why cesareans aren't 'just another way to have a baby.' They're major surgery. They're often emotionally devastating- and the things that new mothers hear most ('All that matters is a healthy baby') often belittle the emotional impact of birth on recovery and bonding.

Straight out of the mouths of the women who have been cut. We're all supposed to just be happy that our baby is healthy. But it does matter what women go through. It affects parenting, confidence, future health. Cesarean Voices is raw and emotional, watch out, it may turn your world upside down.

I loved this book. As a person who had a cesarean that I thought was necessary, and one that I thought I had mostly come to terms with, I wasn't sure what this book would offer, but the experiences of the other women were able to put in writing really spoke to me. It spoke to the core of my experience, and the frustrations, fear, and sadness that I experienced.

This book is great for anyone out there who doubts themselves about their birth experience. You are not alone, and this book is comforting that complex emotions are valid following a cesarean section. Unique, to my knowledge.