The last boundary of body shaming and the stories none of us want to tell

Is it a betrayal to speak the harsh truth that childbirth can cost a mother's body in ways that will never fully repair? To speak only of the wonderment of a new human? I thought it was stupendous, giving birth. I felt like an Amazon, pushing out those wonder-children - long and hefty, smooth pudgy skin, so tender under my hand. It was a miracle of world-making to see a whole human unfurl from my womb. But this other shocking reality: torn flesh, lumpy stitches, burning urine, painful pooing. A ...