Book Club: My Caesarean
Welcome to our first ever Book Club meeting! Each month we’ll review a book on a range of issues: pregnancy, parenting, family life, making the world a better place. Each book can be found on our Recommended Reading page.
For our first issue, in honour of Caesarean Awareness Month, we review
“My Caesarean: Twenty-One Mothers on the C-Section Experience and After”
Who is this for?
Content warning: this book deals with many forms of trauma throughout its pages.
This book is for anyone who has had a Caesarean Birth and who is trying to work through their feelings (positive/negative) about it. It’s for anyone who feels that their friends, family and caregivers don’t understand the feelings they have about their birth.
This book is also for anyone considering whether a repeat Caesarean Birth is the right choice for them.
What’s great about this?
This book is a collections of essays by individuals who have had Caesareans. It displays the wide range of feelings and experiences that pregnant people have while giving birth by caesarean section. And at the same time, it highlights what all of the writers have in common.
The book also explores how our past experiences, especially of trauma, affect our choices and experiences.
The diversity of viewpoints in this book, and the first person telling of stories makes it likely that readers will see themselves within the stories.
What are some questions and critiques about this book?
The stories in this book are powerful and personally truthful accounts of individual people’s experiences and feelings. But that doesn’t mean that all of the details are medically accurate. Or that the procedures described are consistent with our current time and place. Please ask your provider if you have questions.
What should you talk to your Midwife about?
If you are curious or concerned about what a Caesarean birth would mean, ask your Midwife. We’re happy to describe the procedure and discuss your options.
If you have had a Caesarean birth and are struggling with your feelings, please talk to your Midwife! We’re here to listen and to support.
Tell us what you thought of this book by leaving a comment.
See what else is on our Reading List.
Disclosure
The book review above contains affiliate links and if you choose to click them, we may earn a commission. We will never link to something we believe to be harmful and we also provide links to access each book free from the Toronto Public Library. A review here is not the same as a recommendation and it is never our intention to suggest anyone buy any specific product.