Young, Healthy Mom Does Everything ‘Right’ — Then She’s Rushed Into Emergency Surgery

When Ruth Lee was 24, she and her husband, Dakota, found out they were expecting. They were thrilled to expand their family and couldn’t wait to have a tiny new family member join them.

Ruth read everything she could about pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. She was so prepared, she thought she knew exactly what to expect.

Because she was young, Ruth assumed her pregnancy would go very smoothly. She thought her body would immediately bounce back: she expected to have no stretch marks, unexpected weight gain, or surprises.

When she gave birth, though, things didn’t go as Ruth thought they would: after 19 hours of labor she was rushed to surgery.

Ruth wrote, “I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined what we went through to get this babe into the world…”

Now, Ruth’s incredibly honest take on her birth experience is going viral — and it’s no wonder why.


Although Ruth’s pregnancy and birth didn’t go as expected, her daughter Presley was born perfectly healthy.

Three months after Presley’s birth, Ruth decided to share the photo above with a note about the pregnancy and delivery.

The photo has since gone viral: moms everywhere have loved her honesty.

Although she took the photo a few days after she gave birth, she waited months to share it.

She wrote: I’m posting this tonight with tears in my eyes. I can’t help it. The pregnancy and birth of my little girl was the most amazing thing I’ve ever been a part of.

Some people don’t want kids, and I respect that. Really, I do. But for me, you see, I always have.

When it finally happened, though, it was so hard to fully comprehend. Pregnancy and babies, I mean that’s common. It’s everywhere. But when it’s YOUR body and YOUR baby, it’s so different. You literally feel like it’s a miracle. Because, when it happens to you, it is.

What brings me to Instagram tonight is the post-baby. I followed SO many pregnant models during my pregnancy. And when they photographed themselves poolside 5 minutes postpartum, I thought, “Wow! I hope that happens to me!”

I was 25 when I gave birth. I was healthy. I was young. I stayed active during my pregnancy. I took the best prenatals, went to the gym, used every kind of stretch-mark prevention you could think of.

I took hours of birthing classes, read every book under the sun, and studied natural childbirth my whole pregnancy. I STILL ended up with a traumatic labor, cesarean section, scars, stretch marks, and unfortunately the inability to breastfeed long term.

I took this picture a few days after I gave birth, when my PPD really first reared its head into my life. I took this and actually was horrified. I couldn’t believe it was me . I’m sharing it because I know in my heart that there are people out there that struggle with inadequacy…

That might think they are not beautiful, that they might be ruined, less worthy, or not good enough. Yours might not actually be physical scars, but maybe a failed relationship, a difficulty in your career, a mental struggle, money issues, or just feeling lost in life.

Be kind to yourself. And know that you are not alone. Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t let social media taint your view of what is beautiful, what is REAL. And above all, know that if you are struggling, I am here.



Source