Giving birth is an experience like no other. Filled with raw emotion and physical strain, delivering a baby is a life-changing moment that shows just how amazing the female body is, no matter how your baby is born.
So after a birth photographer apparently slammed a mum for having a C-section instead of a natural birth, we asked Australia’s top birth photographer Selena Rollason to share some of her favourite images with us to debunk the idea that some births are more equal than others.
Selena says birth photography is “beautiful, gorgeous, positive and empowering”, whether the baby is born naturally or by C-section.
Selena, who has had two Caesarean deliveries, says that taking photos of other women’s C-sections actually helps her process what happened with her own births. She says “the family moments, the tears, the joy and the emotion” is the focus, not the way baby arrived.
“Birth is a life-changing moment. You remember the day you got married and you remember the day you give birth. It’s a fundamental moment in life,” she tells Mum’s Grapevine.
Amazing images
Speaking of love, Selena’s birth photos – caesareans, water births and natural births amongst them – are heartfelt and utterly stunning. Here are a few to share in:
A wave of contractions
Timeline of labour
The arrival of twins
Daddy delivery
Wonderful water birth
Whether you choose to have your birth photographed or not, giving life to a brand-new human is an incredible achievement and it’s the beginning of a wonderful life together.
Take a look at more incredible birthing stories from our archives. And if you have your own baby on the way, check out this post about dealing with labour pains.
(images via Selena Rollason and AIPP)
