Why birth photography and why home birth?
To put it simply, birth is amazing. It’s a beautiful profound and empowering experience and one of the most incredible things that women can do to create life. Even before having my own children, birth was something that totally inspired me and left me in awe. After the birth of my first child, I knew that I wanted to capture and savour that very moment for women when they meet their babies for the very first time.
Mainstream birth culture seems to be filled with so much fear and this fear is validated with Hollywood perceptions of what birth is. Women have been birthing babies since forever and it’s only since the introduction of obstetricians that birth became a medicalised event. Women assume that they are doing the right thing by trusting the system of care that involves antenatal appointments of growth scans, screenings and tests and are no longer tuning in to their own intuition and babies or feeling empowered to do their own research. The “system” that has been designed to make women feel “safe” during their pregnancies is instead casting doubt on the ability to birth their babies and an unnecessary need for intervention. As a result, so many women are walking away from their birth experiences traumatised and violated and many come to the realisation that it’s not supposed to be that way.
I was lucky to have had two “natural” births in a hospital. My first wasn’t without trauma. I had to fight a midwife to not be induced knowing that my baby was so close to being born. I birthed her 20 minutes later. My second baby was a text-book pregnancy and she was born in a birth pool at a hospital where I was supported in my choices by a beautiful midwife who knew how head strong and determined I was about a physiological birth. But not every woman is lucky enough to have such a positive experience in a hospital setting and at a time when you are so vulnerable it’s so easy to succumb to pressures from medical staff, particularly if you are not fully informed. My third pregnancy and birth changed me forever. I re-read Ina May Gaskin and was left in awe over Rhea Dempseys books. I knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant that this baby was going to be born at home. Originally I was going to birth through our local hospital’s home birth program but after realising how many loop-holes I had to jump through and screenings and tests that were still required by the hospital (and questioning why and what for?), it occurred to me that the program did not align with my choices and chances were slim that any midwife bound by APHRA would support them. At 26 weeks pregnant, I no longer had the energy to fight the system and a friend recommended an incredible home birth midwife who serves women over the system and whole heartedly supports womens birth choices. I birthed a beautiful baby boy at home in the water, who my eldest daughter witnessed in total awe and it was the most empowering, magical and life changing experience that if I could bottle-up and relive again, I would.
As an empath, it was no surprise that I’ve left a decent number of hospital births feeling vicariously traumatised. Births are such incredible moments for parents but to witness unnecessary interventions inflicted on mothers that results in their own birth trauma and to capture that trauma for mothers, no longer felt right with me. I’m a big advocate for physiological birth, for women to do their own research, inner-work and empower themselves to make their own choices, to tune in to their babies and bring them into the world in a way that is gentle and calm. Sadly, this rarely happens in a hospital setting and is the reason why I made the choice to only capture births that are planned in the space and comfort of a home.
Birth is so much more than birth canals and bodily fluids. It’s the tiny moments that change everything. We’ve documented so much of our lives, why would we not document the day that we’ve longed for for nine months…some maybe even years. When hiring me as your birth photographer, I consider it a huge honour to be invited into such a sacred, private and intimate space. I am well aware and have an exhaustive understanding and knowledge of the birth process, birth space and the sacred portal that is birth. I acknowledge and respect the people who are caring for the birthing mother and am whole heartedly committed to working together to provide the best and most positive experience possible. I work unobtrusively and candidly, capturing moments as they happen in a way that visually documents a birth story for a mother to relive, process and cherish.
If you’re an expecting home birth mama and having your birth captured by me is something you’d like to chat more about, get in touch via the contact form. I’d love to hear from you!
