From feelings of guilt about not being able to deliver their baby naturally, to embarrassment and shame about the scars on their abdomens, women everywhere have opened up about what it’s really like to have a C-section.

One woman writes on Facebook beneath Helen’s image:

“To have a C-section is not easy! You feel them pull and tear you. Not the pain but the movements. And you usually vomit which isn't easy. Then take months to recover. You can't just get up and walk. Every time you cough (i had flu b at the time) your [sic] in agony and feel like your stitches are going to burst. C-sections are hard work. I feel ashamed for not trying harder but the drs tell me that I couldn't. This mum is Beautiful!”

While one father chose to respond to negative comments surrounding the topic, with a moving dedication to his wife:

“A good mother isn't defined by the process of labour or whether she breast fed or not a good mother is defined by the sacrifices and love she gives to her children. Both our children were delivered by C-section and I can assure you it's not the easy option by any means. It's just as scary and the recovery if [sic] far more painful and long lasting than labour.”

"And as for the negative comments about the scar....I love my wife's scars as they show the sacrifice she made to safely bring our children into this world. That's what makes a good mother, not 'natural births' or breast feeding or anything else, just because their choices where different from yours doesn't give you the right to judge them.”

“Giving life shouldn’t be a competition of how you did it”: C-section photograph goes viral sparking debate over caesareans and shame