When I am in labor, I am very modest and private. I really don’t want too many people watching me. But if I were to do my 4 births again, I would hire a photographer to document 4 of the most important days of my life. A medical student offered to take pictures when my first daughter was born and I treasure the few pictures I have of her birth. When I had my babies, cameras still had film so there was a limit to what we would take to Kmart to get developed! So now I look at birth pictures and regret that I can’t relive my own “birth” days again in the same way our clients can.
Your Birth(s) will Be Counted Among the Most Important Day(s) of Your Life
Important days are far and few between in life. We would probably call less than one month of days the “BIG” days in our whole lives. Graduation days, wedding days, expensive, unusual vacations and anniversaries are almost always remembered with photos. But because labor and birth are best accomplished when women feel safe, private and unobserved, hiring an unfamiliar person to take pictures can be very disruptive to labor and birth. The woman’s partner is generally not schooled in getting the best birth pictures and, of course, then the partner is not able to be in the photos. So even in the digital age, it is tough to get good birth photos.
Birth Photos Once Uncommon
At the beginning of my career as a midwife, birth photos were not commonly done. The family would forget to take them and I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures with their camera, using up expensive film. When cameras became digital, we started to be more bold with picture taking. We would borrow the woman’s camera and take pictures telling her that she could always delete what she didn’t like. We would remind her that we couldn’t put the baby back in and do it over to get the photos later! Women’s doulas started capturing the moment as part of their service offering and soon thereafter, The Midwives of New Jersey jumped into the ring!
Midwife Assistants Capture Special Birth Moments
We purchased quality cameras for all the midwives and started bringing Midwife Assistants to our births to help support our clients and midwives and to take photographs. The Midwife Assistants work with our clients throughout their pregnancies; greeting them at the door, making appointments and entertaining their children. So our assistants are familiar to the women when they attend their births; bringing their doula skills and trained eyes to capture special birth moments. We have been making beautiful birth memories for years now and we treasure these documentaries too.
Thank you to our client Christina Skretkowicz for sharing her birth slideshow with us to use on this blog.
My First Birth
February 1990. Up very early in the morning after not sleeping all night. (and certainly look like it!) Heading to the hospital for my cesarean section. Grace was BREECH my entire pregnancy. She still says she didn’t want the blood to rush to her head!
No “natural” cesarean for me. After my daughter was born, my baby was taken to the nursery, my husband was sent to a small room to wait and I laid there by myself until the surgery was done.
Baby covered in vernix
Oh such a sweet little baby. She was worth the section but I sure didn’t want another one!
My Second Birth
With my second birth, I planned a VBAC in the birth center in Allentown PA. Do you know that instead of “ruptured” uterus my VBAC consent said “scar dehiscence) Not nearly so scary.
This is the tub I labored/slept in for 4 hours
My bed at the birth center. I got a job as a nurse at this birth center after my birth. I went to Midwifery School 15 months after my VBAC baby, Kathryn Mary, was born!
Kathryn’s first bath. I look SO BAD! I can’t believe I am showing you!
My Third Birth
As is typical for 2nd vaginal births, Magdalene was born 15 minutes after arriving at the birth center.
Roxie was my dear friend from Midwifery school so she came for Magdalene’s birth.
My Midwife for 2 birth was Lisa Fraine. Here she is showing Grace and Kathryn the placenta. Little did we know, they would both be birth workers in the future!
My Fourth Birth
In labor with my 4th baby. At home in Budd Lake NJ. My most peaceful birth.
Cecilia nursing. Roxie caught Cecilia but we have no photos of it. That is why we work so hard at Midwives of NJ to get you the memories you deserve to have.
Great post and great photos. Really amazing. Thanks to Christina Skretkowicz for sharing her birth slideshows.
Thank you for sharing, Lisa! You are beautiful inside and out!
Thank you, Lisa.
Midwives of NJ delivered my baby at home. I had a beautiful experience and the gift of the birth pictures taken by the attending midwife assistant. I wish to add one minor request for the future: Please take a picture of the placenta, too. XOXO