The Best of Birth Photography 2021
2020 was hard. 2021 was harder. Not only for my clients that thought “all of this” would be behind us, but for myself personally. The past year marked the hardest I can remember in the midst of a clinical depression, being unwell, and losing my dad unexpectedly. Therefore the births I attended became that much more inspiring and joyful.
I am forever grateful to be a person families welcome into their sacred spaces. There is unimaginable responsibility that comes with making a commitment to being in these moments, to documenting these moments and to delivering them at the right time in a postpartum journey. This work is nurturing, it’s filling up emptiness, it’s creating beauty in a space often viewed as anything but. So for every person who took the time to look through these few photographs representing some of my favorite moments in Birth Photography this year— I thank you. Your support means the world to me. To those who waited longer than they should have while I put my life back together, your patience and compassion mean more than you could ever know.
persistence.
There’s a moment in the throws of labor where I prompt many families to remember what lies at the end of this journey. A baby. Your baby. And I outline that moment just after birth that’s only a few moments away. Your baby is in your arms and looking up at you, squinting through the bright lights of this world. Your baby is crying at you, telling you of the experiences she faced to get to your arms. And she’s warm. And she’s covered in vernix. And she’s yours. And she’s here.
This was that moment. Bree was losing sight of what she was doing. Meeting her baby. We spent just a few moments remembering there’s a life being born and all of this work will be worth every moment of pain she’s in now. The greatest gift life has to give us is just out of reach, but it will be in her arms soon. We imagined what her child’s face would look like and who her baby would sound like. And in all of the pain and chaos and exhaustion of transition, she remembered what was almost in her arms. That single tear is a mark of her strength as much as it is of her love.
vernix.
Atticus was Lauren’s third baby. Her second birth was one of my earliest experiences in supporting families in labor, just a couple of years into my work as a birth photographer and my second doula client. We spent twelve long hours together at her previous delivery. So we both expected about the same for little Atticus.
Lauren was prepared for an evidence based birth and chose the Birth Center of Bloomington Normal for her care. She had high aspirations of a water birth that was intervention free. Due in part to her diligent pursuance of education, Lauren was able to have the birth of dreams with the Birth Center, laboring for a quick four hours!
Atticus has been my favorite little one of 2021. His smooshed face is a testament to the resiliency of humans. His small body covered in vernix (what I affectionately refer to as birthday frosting now), was a huge surprise and a detail I am excited to have documented for Lauren’s family.
unplanned.
Khristina’s home birth was planned. Birthing in her 100 year old upstairs bathroom was not part of that plan. When the birth team headed downstairs to finish preparing for her baby’s arrival in her decorated birthing space, I stayed with her to support Khristina through her rapidly changing contractions. Her energy went from calm and tired to anxious and restless in minutes.
When she asked me to pause with her to try to use her bathroom, my doula brain went, OH NO. No toilet babies. Do NOT have a baby in this toilet.
Khristina spent two contractions on the toilet. On the second contraction I turned the tub water on. Just before the third one came, I yelled down for the midwife to come upstairs along with Khristina’s husband. Within two minutes, her baby was here.
This portrait hangs in my office now. It’s a testament to finding your inner strength amongst rapidly changing circumstances. It represents grasping for stability through chaos. Precipitous childbirth can be overwhelming to a mother who does not have time to cope with the next wave of intensity.
But Khristina embraced it. I mean, she was a little mad about the bathtub considering the gorgeous space she put together downstairs. She personally hates that bathroom. I imagine it has to be her favorite room of her home now.