Guys, this birth. It reminded me of my own first birth story in many ways. It reminded me of close friends who’d experienced similar stories, and made me oh, SO thankful for mamas who go into birth with solid support systems in place.

Wednesday I received a text from mom that she’d been having contractions since the day before and that things seemed to be SLOOOOOWLY progressing. I had a session to shoot across town, so I made sure my bags were packed then went out to the session. I kept in touch with the doula working with this family (a Green and Grey Partner- Three Little Birds Birth Services) through the day, and went to bed around 8pm that night in preparation for an early wakeup. I woke up at 12:05am to a text telling me that the doula was on her way, and it’d be a good idea to also start making my way to their house as well.

Mom had asked me to be there to capture her laboring at home before they left for the hospital. I knew that this birth would likely be longer than most, as I tend to arrive when the birth workers are sure mom is fully into active labor. Mom was struggling through painful contractions already, but they didn’t seem to be progressing as much as was needed to move her closer to delivery. She walked up and down the hallway and stairs, pausing to breath through contractions. She did some side-lying techniques suggested by her doula, and tried to sleep.

Around 4:30am she decided it was time to head to the hospital, so we gathered our things, they kissed their pup, and we caravanned to the hospital.

We arrived at the OB triage desk at 5:00am, and after a quick check (finding her to be dilated to 6cm!) we moved to a room in Labor and Delivery. As we started settling in and the midwife on call ran the water in the bath while Mom got into the shower. The warm water seemed to help relieve some of the sharpest pain, and she stayed in the shower for a while. The next 13 hours proved long, disappointing, and frustrating in terms of progress, and ultimately I wasn’t allowed to be present to capture the birth due to patients not being allowed to bring a second support person into the OR. I did give my camera to the attending midwife, however, and she was able to capture photos of sweet baby T entering our world at last. Through the positional changes, the different pain management options, the monitoring, the epidural, and ultimately the c-section, mom was in control and making decisions on her terms, and that was the most important piece of her story.

Birth experiences like this are hard. No matter what the story is at the end of the day, whether it be home or hospital birth, natural or epidural, c-section or vaginal, labors that take days to progress and plans that are forced to be reworked can leave mom and dad feeling emotionally, physically, and mentally drained. It can take a long time to feel ready to talk about or relive those experiences.

And that’s where birth photography comes into play.

Birth photography allows a look back into those intensely emotional and difficult moments through a lens of distance and honesty. It sheds light on fuzzy memories and eventually helps clear the negative emotions away to make room for love, awe, and appreciation. Watching a mom fight so hard for her birth experience and her son and watching a dad fight so hard to protect and love his family was breathtakingly beautiful to witness.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for letting me be present to capture your birth C and T. You worked so hard, supported each other so beautifully, and it was an honor to be a part of your experience.