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Do you want the truth about c-sections? Because this week, you’re getting it.


Jen and Beth — the brilliant, brutally honest minds behind The C-Section Experience podcast — join us for a conversation that’s part group therapy, part birth trauma confessional, and part roast of the word “birth plan.” Between them, they’ve had more abdominal surgeries than a Grey’s Anatomy cast member and are here to share about some really personal things like: stillbirth, VBACs, unmedicated guilt spirals, body betrayal, hospital shakes, and the deep weirdness of bonding with a newborn when you’ve got a toddler at home who still calls the shots.

They’re smart. They’re funny. And they’re not here for the sugarcoating.

Whether you had a magical unmedicated birth or felt like your uterus got mugged in an OR, this episode is for you.

Content note: This episode includes a deeply personal story of stillbirth.
At 28 weeks pregnant, Beth knew something was wrong — but no one listened. What followed changed everything about how she approached birth, medicine, and motherhood. She shares her story with vulnerability and strength, offering insight into how trauma shapes our decisions and how healing isn’t linear.


Together we unpack:

What it’s like to schedule a C-section after stillbirth

The guilt spiral of “failed” birth plans and emergency deliveries

Why three is the hardest age (scientific consensus among moms)

Medical gaslighting and why your gut always knows

Birth prep advice that actually helps

Scar tissue, diastasis recti, and whether a strong core helps or hurts

The postpartum recovery no one preps you for (including scar itch and the shakes)

How to stop apologizing for your birth story

They also get real about what it’s like to fall in love with your kid — sometimes not right away — and why being a “good mom” has nothing to do with how your baby entered the world.

Resources Mentioned:

The C-Section Experience Podcast

Every Mother: Diastasis Recti Program

Postpartum Support International

VBAC info via ACOG

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

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Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

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