One year ago, Vanessa Morgan gave birth to her son River via C-section, and now she's commemorating her empowering journey in a beautiful way.
The "Riverdale" actress received a meaningful tattoo this week next to her cesarean scar to honor what she called "the happiest day" of her life.
Created by tattoo artist Noah Lee, Morgan received the word "kintsugi" in cursive, which is a Japanese term surrounding embracing flaws and imperfections.
"It basically means you're more beautiful for having been broken," Morgan told "GMA." "It was a great meaning for a word to represent my C-section scars and kind of what I felt like. I feel like I'm more beautiful for having gone through that surgery and having that scar."
A cesarean section is a surgical procedure performed to deliver a baby through the birthing person's abdomen, instead of the vagina. It is a procedure that in some cases may be planned and in others is done on a more emergency basis if labor is not progressing or if the health of the mother or baby is in danger, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
Additionally, more than 1 million children are birthed via cesarean deliveries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Reflecting back on her C-section experience, Morgan said it was "a really hard one." She remembers having a hard recovery and it not being the birth story she wanted.
"I wanted a natural birth," said Morgan. "But it ended up being my story, and my story is really beautiful."
The actress continued to highlight that embracing her full self is what led her to get a tattoo and partner with Gold Bond for the brand's new "My Scar, My Story" campaign — which ultimately has the intention of encouraging others to embrace their real skin stories as well.
"The point of this campaign is to encourage people to tell their real skin stories, and that our skin is a canvas, and that any imperfections on our skin are beautiful," said Morgan. "It's our authentic self."
She added, "And it encourages people to use the hashtag, #MyScarStory and tag Gold Bond to join the community and the movement of real authentic skin. It's really good for cracked skin and really moisturizing."
When it comes to taking care of her own skin and how she will care for her new tattoo, Morgan said she loves applying Gold Bond's Advanced Healing Ointment a couple of times a day. She also is a fan of the brand's Healing Lotion.
"I really like how it's hypoallergenic and has vitamin A, C and E. So that's kind of how I take care of my skin. That's my current skin journal," she said.
Morgan said she hopes her story and Gold Bond's campaign will encourage people to tell their real skin stories and share their authentic selves.
"We're such a filtered social media society right now, and the standards are so high," she said. "So I feel like if a hashtag like this, and a campaign like this can help, and us speaking out about experiences where we were warriors, scars on our skin and embracing those imperfections ... it'll move us in the right direction to being our authentic selves."
