Sharna Burgess gets candid about the unexpected caesarean section she had to give birth to her son, Zane, with boyfriend Brian Austin Green.
The “Dancing With the Stars” professional, who gave birth to her first child less than a month ago, posted a photo of her battered belly on Instagram on Monday and said she thought she was left “completely unrecognizable”.
“I wasn’t expecting a C-section,” Burgess began in a long caption.
“I didn’t necessarily have a birth plan, but even my relaxed go with the flow approach was tested when we were told it was the safest option.”
The professional dancer explained that she had been in labor for more than 30 hours, her water had broken twice and she didn’t have enough dilation, prompting doctors to advise her to have a cesarean section.
“At the time it was scary, even on the table it was scary,” she admitted. “But Zane arrived healthy and happy and that was always the priority.”
Burgess said she had no idea how to recover from a cesarean section and that she was “afraid” to look at her body for the first time after the procedure.
“The incision and omg the swelling? I looked and thought, ‘Wow, I’m completely unrecognizable and my body has been through a serious st–t,’ she said.
However, the Australian resident said that in those times of uncertainty, she recognized that she had been given a life in her, and that “miracle makes it all worth it”.
Burgess noted that no matter how a woman gave birth to her child, “postpartum recovery is no joke.”
“Women, we are incredible, remember that when you cry for the first time, or are unable to physically get out of bed,” she concluded. “It’s painful and emotional but it’s beautiful and man…is it worth every second ♥️ you got this xx”
Burgess regularly posts updates about her postpartum journey and shared a mirror selfie of herself at the gym earlier this month.
“The recovery is slow but steady,” the choreographer wrote with a photo of herself in a sports bra and leggings. “It’s been a whole week. It’s been beautiful. I’m in newborn bliss.”
Zane is Burgess’ first child. However, Green, 49, has a 20-year-old son Kassius with ex-girlfriend Vanessa Marcil, and three more children, Noah, 9, Bodhi, 8, and Journey, 5, with ex-wife Megan Fox.