Maren Morris Wishes More People Talked About “Brutal” C-Section Postpartum

She felt "really isolated" after her unplanned surgery.

In a new video for Little Spoon’s “Is This Normal” blog, Maren Morris opened up about how she wished she had done her research before having an “unintended” cesarean section during the delivery of her son Hayes, now 4 months old. Because she didn’t expect to have a c-section, Morris believes she didn’t mentally or physically prepare herself for the surgery or recovery process. Now, the country singer is hoping more moms are candid about their experiences.

“I labored for 30 hours, wanted to do it naturally, but I stopped having contractions and it was just time to call it and get him out safely,” Morris said in the video, which she’s using to support the Black Women’s Health Imperative

Though she’s glad she and her husband, Ryan Hurd, went through with the c-section, she said she wished she learned more about the process and recovery before having to live through it.

I just wish I had done a better job at preparing myself for the shock of a c-section because the postpartum of a c-section is so brutal,” Morris said.

As Morris explained, after a c-section, it’s nearly impossible to use any abdominal muscles—which caused her to “army crawl” out of bed to use the bathroom—and she became reliant on Hurd to do many basic activities.

“I wished people talked more about their c-section stories because I felt, like a lot of mothers, just really isolated, really lonely right after because it was this unexpected surgery.”

Morris added that, now four months postpartum, she’s feeling a lot better and feels as though she’s finally getting “back into her body.” And she reminded other mothers before signing off that, yes, the process of growing and birthing a baby takes time, but new moms will get back to themselves. “Don’t rush it,” she said.

In a since-deleted Instagram post uploaded shortly after Hayes arrived, Morris wrote that her 30-hour labor and eventual c-section were, “Not what we planned but I learned pretty quickly that night that having a plan for bringing a human into the world is a fool’s errand.”

We suppose the old saying “expect the unexpected” comes into play here. The more c-section moms get candid, like Morris, about their experiences during labor and afterward, the more community other mothers have to feel less isolated. So thank you for sharing your experiences, Maren.