Cesarean Art exhibition

Selke · May 5, 2006

....
Thanks for this - where did you come across it anyway anon?
steph

Someone posted it to an oby-gyne listserv. I think it's approprate to share with others who care for childbearing women. Think of the escalating c-section rate and the long term impact that's going to have on American women .... I was very moved and disturbed by it, but I love art and the way it can be used to portray intense embodied experiences. (I hope in my next life I'll be an artist ....) The "recipe" was powerful -- I've never thought of a pregnant woman as "unpitted." I'd never looked at a c-section that way before (I've never had one) but I can understand this type of response to creatively master the experience. But I've had spinal surgery and loved Frida Kahlo's paintings about her spinal surgery, as a similar example, as empowering and an antidote to shame at one's body. It really stirred up a lot of feelings among the OBs, midwives, and RNs on that list. Images are powerful stuff. I'd rather look at this art than the Britney Spears on a bearskin rug sculpture.

wannabeL&D73 · May 5, 2006

Someone posted it to an oby-gyne listserv. I think it's approprate to share with others who care for childbearing women. Think of the escalating c-section rate and the long term impact that's going to have on American women .... I was very moved and disturbed by it, but I love art and the way it can be used to portray intense embodied experiences. (I hope in my next life I'll be an artist ....) The "recipe" was powerful -- I've never thought of a pregnant woman as "unpitted." I'd never looked at a c-section that way before (I've never had one) but I can understand this type of response to creatively master the experience. But I've had spinal surgery and loved Frida Kahlo's paintings about her spinal surgery, as a similar example, as empowering and an antidote to shame at one's body. It really stirred up a lot of feelings among the OBs, midwives, and RNs on that list. Images are powerful stuff. I'd rather look at this art than the Britney Spears on a bearskin rug sculpture.

OMGosh, I also immediately thought of Frida Kahlo! I too found it powerful.

allnurses Guide · May 5, 2006

I do think her images are tasteful, evocative of the depersonalization of a clinical procedure, yet they tell the story.
Feel free to disagree. Art is a personal experience, not a formula.

I agree with you.

steph

allnurses Guide · May 5, 2006

Someone posted it to an oby-gyne listserv. I think it's approprate to share with others who care for childbearing women. Think of the escalating c-section rate and the long term impact that's going to have on American women .... I was very moved and disturbed by it, but I love art and the way it can be used to portray intense embodied experiences. (I hope in my next life I'll be an artist ....) The "recipe" was powerful -- I've never thought of a pregnant woman as "unpitted." I'd never looked at a c-section that way before (I've never had one) but I can understand this type of response to creatively master the experience. But I've had spinal surgery and loved Frida Kahlo's paintings about her spinal surgery, as a similar example, as empowering and an antidote to shame at one's body. It really stirred up a lot of feelings among the OBs, midwives, and RNs on that list. Images are powerful stuff. I'd rather look at this art than the Britney Spears on a bearskin rug sculpture.

Thanks for the info. I do think it tells us that people perceive things differently - while I would never have felt violated at all by my surgery I have felt violated by other experiences.

steph

introspectiveRN · May 5, 2006

I am so glad that you posted this...

dawngloves, BSN, RN · May 5, 2006

I'd like to know who the docs are that find the smell of Bovied flesh appealing!:uhoh21: Keep me outta that hospital!

emh29 · May 5, 2006

Thanks for sharing that link.

I can relate with the artist's emotions.. I, too, had a c/s (that, in retrospect, I realize was very likely unnecessary) and felt violated in a way that I cannot even describe. It is difficult for anyone else to understand, unless they have been there personally. There is a great support group for women, called the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN). Some of the stories there would just shock you.

I hope that artist is able to let go of some of that pain..

I switched to a midwife with my second pregnancy and it was just wonderful. I had a wonderful VBAC with a very large baby and it was.. amazing.

I could go on forever (don't worry, I won't ) but it is a subject very near and dear to my heart.

LuvMyGamecocks · May 5, 2006

It seems to me that exhibits like this enable a person to release so many different emotions that have built up. It's certainly intriguing and thought-provoking, but like you said, prmenrs, I hope it's not giving the artist an excuse to hang on the negativity she associated with her c-section. (I'm more scientist than artist, and can't pretend to understand an artist's mind, though.)

If anything, seeing that site helps me to better put into perspective my feelings towards my own 2 c-sections.

(Please excuse my ignorance - I shadowed an OR nurse recently and the only part of the surgery that turned my stomach was the smell of the smoke rising at the end of the surgery. Because of my limited standing area, I couldn't see what it was that making the smoke....was that a Bovie? Name brand for a cautery gun?)

I'm curious...any of you do any kind of art for emotional release?

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · May 5, 2006

I couldn't see what it was that making the smoke....was that a Bovie? Name brand for a cautery gun?

Electrocautery pencil, also known as a "bovie".

tinyscrafts · May 5, 2006

Why would anyone think this is a woman hanging on to her pain?? the babies birth day according to the site was in October 2005. Pain that massive needs to be worked through. That takes time.

allnurses Guide · May 6, 2006

Why would anyone think this is a woman hanging on to her pain?? the babies birth day according to the site was in October 2005. Pain that massive needs to be worked through. That takes time.

I'm not saying anything about not allowing her to process through her art.

I have to be honest though and say I had a cesarean and it was not a big deal - it was an emergency and I was scared that my son would have complications but I was not concerned at all about me. And while it hurt, it didn't hurt that much due to wonderful pain meds.

Also, my perspective was I'd already had three "natural births" and I personally didn't like the feeling of labor. And wished for a cesarean. :mad:

Also, I am, at times, a L&D nurse and some cesarean moms surprise me and hop right out of bed. I do remember not being able to do that - it was amazing that even clearing my throat used my stomach muscles and was hard to do. Other moms take more time to recover.

We are not carbon copies of one another and life effects us all in a different way. I absolutely think her artwork is valid.

steph