Birth Photography: What if something goes wrong?

Even before your baby is born, you can't help but worry.

I think it's part of the mom code or something.

You worry about whether your baby is healthy or your bump is too big or too small.

You worry about what kind of mother you'll be and what kind of personality your little one will have.

You worry about the birth.

What if something happens?

Women having been having babies forever, but everyone has at least one friend with some terrifying birth story (unfortunately, I think I'm sometimes that friend for some people).

What would a birth photographer do in those cases? Would you even want a birth photographer there?

These are all legitimate concerns. Birth is incredible and miraculous and in a lot of cases, completely normal.

But birth is also unpredictable and sometimes unexpected events can happen, even for the most prepared mother.

In those times, moms often feel a wide range of emotions.

Fear.
Vulnerability.
Lack of control.

I speak from experience here (remember how I said I'm often that​ friend?). If you've never read the birth story of my first born (lovingly called Bug), you can find it here.

I felt so out of control... like my body had failed me and my baby.

I remember laying on the OR table thinking, "How did I get here?"

It wasn't until a day or two later that I saw my own strength through the eyes of my own mom. She had been with me throughout the entire process and even in the OR when my daughter was born.

She made a post on Facebook talking about how brave I was and how I was the calmest one in the OR. She praised how I set aside all of the hopes I had for my birth and laid myself out on that table for the sake of my baby girl.

I won't say I magically felt better about everything after that because it's just not true.

But it was a start.

I needed to get out of my own head and see my birth from an outsider's perspective.

I needed to see my birth from another angle.

That's what birth photography does. It shows you the depth of your own strength.

You can see the look of determination on your own face as you work to bring your baby into the world.

You get to see the joy in your eyes when you meet your baby for the first time.

You can see the love and support of the people who surrounded you that day.

Even more important, birth photography can give you moments that you may have missed.

That's actually one of the biggest reasons I decided to become a birth photographer.

After my daughter was born, my husband went to the nursery with her and I was left behind in the OR.

He held our daughter - the first baby he had ever held in his life - in the nursery, and I missed it.

It's a moment I'll never get back. It's the reason why my favorite pictures during my clients' births are usually dad meeting or holding baby for the first time. I feel like I get the chance to give other moms something that I wasn't able to have.

Birth photography can be healing and empowering. My goal as a birth photographer is to show you the beauty in your baby's birth day - no matter what else happens.

Want to know more about birth photography? Click here.