An expectant Oregon mother who shared a hostile exchange with a potential birth photographer on her Facebook page was forced to delete the post after receiving threats on her page. The woman, who has chosen not to disclose her name after the backlash, had posted a screenshot of a text message from the alleged photographer, who refused to book her as a client when learning the baby would be delivered via Caesarian section.
“A surgery isn’t birth, my dear,” the alleged photographer reportedly said. “You are having a surgery to remove your baby from your abdomen. That is not birth no matter how you swing it and I for once don’t want to be there to take pictures of it. If you decide to give motherhood a go from the get and have an actual birth let me know and we can schedule your session.”
The mother-to-be had explained in the alleged exchange that she did not choose to have a C-section over a vaginal birth, but the photographer reportedly responded that she should rethink motherhood.
“This motherhood job is hard, if I were you I would think twice about starting such a job by cutting corners so early in the game,” the alleged text read.
Though she deleted the post of her page, it was picked up by Sanctimommy, a parenting Facebook page that shared it with their followers on Friday. The post has gotten more than 1,700 comments and 3,800 shares since.
Many commenters responded with stories and photos of their own C-sections, or messages of support for the unidentified woman.
“I’d hate to know what the photographer would say if she’d been hired to photograph the conception, and found out the mom had taken the easy way out with IVF. Cutting corners!” one poster sarcastically responded.
“I thought when doctors removed things from your abdomen they sent them off for pathology and got rid of them as medical waste?” a commenter who received more than 500 likes wrote. “My abdominal removal surgery is still a growth on me. Just outside instead of inside. And, it demands food, dinosaur train, and time outside.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 32 percent of all 2015 births in the United States were delivered via C-section.