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Chontel Duncan, 27, is a dedicated fitness trainer and instructor who owns several gyms across Australia. She posts inspirational images of her clients, as well as herself, on her Instagram, hoping to motivate and encourage anyone who sees them.
When Duncan first became pregnant with her son Jeremiah, she was heavily criticized on Instagram for continuing her intense training regimen simply because her six-pack abs were easily visible throughout her entire pregnancy.
Duncan, however, refused to let the online hate bring her down, and continued to post about her pregnancy experience as she prepared to give birth.
When time came for Duncan to finally deliver her son, complications arose. Her doctors were unable to follow her original birthing plan of delivering Jeremiah naturally. There was no choice but to have Jeremiah delivered via C-section.
Duncan agreed – even though she’d felt like she’d failed her son by being unable to give birth to him naturally. “I CRIED I [sic] felt like I failed,” she wrote in an Instagram post much later.
But even while moving forward with the C-section, Duncan’s doctors struggled.
Because Duncan’s abdominal muscles were so strong and tight from her workouts, Jeremiah’s body was “locked…in super tight.” The pressure of the baby and the doctor’s manipulations ultimately made Duncan begin vomiting halfway through labor.
“This is why my [C-section] scar was cut up on my right side because the surgeon had to cut me further an[sic] use forceps to successfully get Jeremiah out,” she explained.
It has taken Duncan several months to mentally recover from the ordeal of Jeremiah’s birth, but now she’s intensely proud of her C-section scar and shares her story with anyone who asks.
When it comes to having more children, Duncan admits that she would love to have three more. “[And] I will always try for a vaginal birth with each one,” she finished.
