Vanessa Morgan's C-Section Scar Has a Story—and a New Tattoo

Vanessa Morgan's new tattoo tells the story of a birth that didn't go as she planned but possibly saved her son River's life.

"I was thrown a curveball and River's heart rate was racing, and I had to get an emergency C-section," says Morgan. "But I remember being a little bit ashamed that my body let me down, and I kind of had to release that for me and be like, 'No, I'm proud of my body."

To honor the way her son came into the world, Morgan adorned her scar with a special word. Now, in partnership with Gold Bond's #MyScarStory campaign, the actress is encouraging people everywhere to embrace their scars and celebrate the stories their skin tells.

Last year, actress Vanessa Morgan, known for her role as Amanda Pearce in the family teen comedy series The Latest Buzz and as Toni Topaz in the popular CW teen drama Riverdale, took on a new role as a mom, giving birth to her baby boy, River. In an interview with Kindred by Parents, Morgan talks about her C-section scar, the story it tells, and the meaning of the tattoo she just got to adorn her scar and tell its story.

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While pregnant, she spent countless hours watching YouTube videos of birth blogs. She was determined to have an unmedicated birth and even had her birth plan mapped out. After an unforeseen circumstance, Morgan had an emergency C-section. Like many mothers who've given birth via cesarean, Morgan initially felt shame. After releasing those emotions, she began to shift her thinking.

"I'm proud of my body. He's here, happy and healthy. It doesn't matter that it wasn't a 'natural' birth," she says. "I had the surgery. I have the scar, but he's here."

The scar that marks her son's opening into the world is now home to a meaningful tattoo: "I got the word kintsugi, which is Japanese pottery that is believed to be more beautiful for having been broken," says Morgan.

River, now 17 months old, is Morgan's "little light worker." As she embraces her own scars, she focuses on ensuring she doesn't pass them down.

"I just want to give him the best environment for his soul to live this experience on Earth," she says. "And I just try to just let him be his own individual and not project any of my conditioning onto him, and let him be this little light worker that I know that he is.