Birth is beautiful, regardless of the setting or circumstances. See for yourself.
There was a time when the father of the baby wasn’t even allowed to be in the room during childbirth. Now it has become a family affair where a mom’s support system (including kids!) can witness the beauty of a newborn’s arrival the moment it happens. And thanks to birth photographers, parents now get to document and preserve every moment of bringing a life into this world.
Jennifer Mason and Monet Nicole, the founders of Birth Becomes Her, an online resource that hopes to inspire birth photography professionals and expectant parents, believe there is power in seeing and sharing images of birth. “There is nothing more valuable than preserving memories from the very best days of your life,” they said on their website.
The website once again hosted a birth photography contest this year. The “2019 Birth Becomes Her Image Contest” had over 1,200 image submissions from birth photographers around the world (nearly 300 more than last year’s entries). The judges, composed of pioneers in the birth and photography communities, selected winners in the following categories: hospital and out-of-hospital births; color and black-and-white images; and postpartum, which includes the first 48 hours after birth and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) sessions.
Sadie, who joined the contest for the first time, wrote the following when she shared this image on Instagram: “What I love about this image is the way it captures those mixtures of emotions you experience right after you have just given birth: major relief, wonder, shock, amazement, exhaustion, happiness, love, overwhelm… Everything that races through your mind when you realize you have done it, you’ve made it.”
“Thank you first and foremost to the beautiful family who trusted me enough to invite me into their birth space to capture such a magical and sacred moment,” Toni wrote on Instagram.
“You are forever ingrained in my heart,” she added.
Linnéa Geiger, the photographer who took the photo, posted it on Instagram. “I had the honor of attending another home birth. It was pure magic, and I am filled with love because of it. Congratulations sweet baby, you were welcomed to this earth with so much love and passion.”
Cat captured the moment a new mom saw her baby for the first time. “Taking the time to observe, touch, and smell the tiny human you just birthed can be so emotionally, spiritually, and physically rewarding,” the photographer wrote on Instagram. “You could stare at her for hours, and you do. It’s time well spent.”
1st place in postpartum images: Photo: Art by Jessica “We love this image by @photoartbyjessica, which placed first in our postpartum category in the #birthbecomesher contest.
I think she’s a tiny doula already.”
2nd place in Color Images: Kendal Blacker Photography
“Peace on earth begins at birth.”
2nd place in black and white: Sashi Hesson, Photographer
“These beautiful, unscripted moments are why I do what I do.”
2nd place in Postpartum: Coastal Lifestyles Photography
“I can’t even begin to tell you what an honour it was to be invited in to Whitney’s birth space when she welcomed her little boy at 30 weeks, as her photographer and birth partner. The strength and the emotions I saw during this labour, delivery and the weeks after are something I will carry with me for the rest of my days.”
3rd place Out of Hospital: Cradled Creations
3rd place in postpartum: Hanna Hill Photography – This gorgeous photo of the 5 brothers
