This mother of two understands that the journey to motherhood is equally precious regardless of the type of childbirth.
There isn’t a “better” childbirth experience. Whether you had a normal or a Cᴇsᴀʀᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ delivery, with or without ᴘᴀɪɴ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, your journey to motherhood is equally precious. And we found a mom of two who perfectly captured this sentiment.
Catie Atkinson, the artist behind Spirit & Sol, has been drawing from her own experiences as a mom of two. Her children were born at home, so many of her art pieces have been focused on home births and water births, which she still dreams of doing someday.
But Catie realized moms who’ve had C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴs or belly births also deserve to be represented in her art. “I believe that all birth is sacred and beautiful, whether it takes place on the kitchen floor or on the operating table, and I strive to portray that in my paintings,” the mom of two told Babble.
In time for International Cesarean Awareness Month this April, Atkinson posted a new belly birth art: a woman holding both her baby and her CS scar. “Scarred, but still standing. Bruised, but not broken. Grateful, but not without grief,” she wrote in the caption. “There’s deep healing to do, inside and out, but we’re here to do it together,” she added, encouraging all moms to help each other.
“Magic Happened Here,” Atkinson captioned her first belly birth art, which she posted in May 2017. The quote is located just above a mom’s cesarean scar. “For all the brave and beautiful c-section mamas out there, don’t forget that you are magic, too!” she added.
Another one of her belly birth arts read “worthy” on a woman’s heart and the words “worth it” on top of her CS wound. “Your birth story is holy, and that beautiful scar on your belly is sacred as sh*t. You are worthy of praise and celebration, honor and admiration,” Atkinson wrote in the caption.
Motherhood seemed to have given her art a purpose. “My artwork is an attempt to hold a mirror up to other mamas, so that they may see their incredible strength and beauty,” she wrote on her website. That includes not just pregnancy and birth but also breastfeeding.
“I’m constantly inspired by the beauty and power of women and motherhood, and I’m passionate about birth, breastfeeding, and gentle parenting,” she added. She’s also a firm believer in the bond women could all share by uplifting each other instead of putting other moms down.
