Cesarean Mothers Circle

We won’t share full length stories in this circle.

However, there may be activities where you choose to share fragments from your birth experience with others.

And you should expect to hear fragments of other women’s birth stories, too.

While it might sound overwhelming to hear about other people’s difficult births, when this is done in a safe, trauma-informed space, listening and being heard is actually one of the most healing gifts we can give ourselves and each other.

Replays will not be available. Live attendance is necessary.

What’s shared in the circle is sacred, tender, and deeply personal.

It doesn’t feel right that people who aren’t present should get to watch those who were.

We meet for 60 minutes and will be pretty strict about start and stop times.

Here is a typical schedule:

1. Introductions, agreements, grounding (15 min)

2. Introduce monthly theme/topic with associated reflection or writing activity (15 min)

3. Time for sharing around the circle (20 min)

4. Closing and grounding (10 min)

Participation is always on your terms. You can always opt out if you don’t feel like doing something. Zero judgment, zero expectations.

Each month varies but the group is usually somewhere between 3 and 15 people. The group is small enough that each participant is central to the experience.

Yes, unlike some of my other groups, the Cesarean Mothers Circle is now held on a drop-in basis.

I encourage you to register at least 24 hours before the circle is scheduled to meet.

If you are wanting a closed group, please contact me.

The circle is designed for mothers in their first or second year postpartum, but you are welcome to join wherever you are in your postpartum journey.

Mothers have joined this circle at all stages postpartum and at all stages of their healing process - from just days after their cesarean birth to multiple years.

Being in an intentional group space with others who can empathize is supportive for anyone, regardless of where they are in their postpartum journey or how much work they've done to heal.

Your willingness to show up with an open heart and mind will create a positive, healing experience for you.

It’s important to know that participants will be invited to share parts of their birth story in some sessions. Ideally, you are in a place with your healing where you can hear and hold some level of space for other people’s experiences (even if imperfect).

It might be helpful if you are also able to talk about some of your own experiences, but this is not required.

Most people will become emotional in this group (crying or other types of emotive upset)- which is so healthy and important. The key is knowing/learning how to be with ourselves (and others) when we get upset - knowing that feeling our emotions is healthy and safe. And learning to come back to our center when we get dysregulated. These are invaluable skills for healing.

We will explore some basic techniques for tracking and regulating our own nervous systems that will help us navigate the more difficult moments that may arise.

If you had a planned cesarean that had an impact on you - whether you consider that impact ambivalence, confusion, birth trauma, grief, sadness, or you're not even sure, this is a safe place to work through your experiences.

I commit to ensuring a judgment-free space for all participants, regardless of birthing choices or circumstances.

All birth matters. All birth choices are valid. Your experience matters and you deserve care, empathy, support, and attunement. Period.

Absolutely not. This circle serves a different purpose from therapy and is designed to help you build a sense of belonging, relational safety, and community as you recover from a difficult or traumatic birth.

You may learn techniques and be exposed to different modalities that might help you on your healing path.

You may also learn from each other and find great solace in knowing that we are all connected by a shared thread.

If you have birth trauma - flashbacks about your birth, intrusive thoughts, extreme sadness or grief, or cannot think or talk about birth without becoming highly emotional and dysregulated - I highly recommend that you also seek the support of a therapist who specializes in trauma healing, ideally birth trauma in particular.

If you’d like help finding a therapist, please feel free to contact me.

I am not a therapist or a medical professional and do not give medical or psychiatric advice. This group can serve as a beautiful supplement to therapy; many of our participants have therapists in addition to participating in this group. Others do not. Everyone is different. You know yourself best.

TLDR; no refunds.

If you pay for a circle but don’t end up attending, for whatever reason, you will not be eligible for a refund. But if you contact me, I will be happy to credit you for a future session.

If for some reason I need to cancel a call after you have submitted a payment, you will automatically receive a full refund. You may need to wait a few days for the refund to hit your bank account.

In the past, the Cesarean Mothers Circle was a 5 month closed container with a designated curriculum.

Although this group uses that name, I have completely changed the nature of the group.

This group does not have a set curriculum and will be loosely organized around key themes and topics, but may adjust based on the needs and interests of participants.

If you are looking for a closed container group with a set curriculum, please contact me.