Welcome to my Blog

Birth photography has become more popular over the last decades, and it is easy to see why. The birth of your child and the moments around it are some of the most emotional and life-altering moments we experience. Reflecting on such a momentous day’s emotions, strengths, and connections can carry beautiful memories and significant healing.

There are many things to consider when searching for the perfect birth photographer; I’ll share 6 factors for choosing a birth photographer and important questions to ask yourself and your prospective photographer.

Hiring the right birth photographer for such a momentous time is essential. Not only is the birth of your child a moment that cannot be repeated or redone, but it is also incredibly emotional and intimate. Although hiring a birth photographer based on price alone may be tempting, there is much more to consider.

1. Experience

In Various Lighting Situations

The first factor to consider is experience. It’s important to consider not only their years in business but also how much experience they have in the birth space.
Birth photography is a unique genre in that lighting settings and scenarios vary greatly. Mothers tend to labor in dimly lit spaces and various light settings, from home to birth centers, to hospital births. Your photographer must be prepared to walk into whatever space you’re delivering in, ready to use the available light, or be equipped with additional light sources such as an external flash.

Do they have a portfolio with strong and consistent work in various settings?

An experienced birth photographer will have invested in equipment that can handle low-light situations and be ready to use their equipment to the best of their abilities. Some birth photographers use an external flash in dimmer lighting situations and during face-paced moments, while others prefer to rely on natural light within the scene. Neither is wrong, but you may want to ask your prospective photographer which they prefer.

Within a Variety of Birth Settings

An experienced birth photographer will have experience in various settings, better preparing them for what may come next. They will have learned the best angles and positions within birth spaces to capture the moments most important to you. They will have experience with the different stages and phases of labor, helping them anticipate moments. They become masterful storytellers, able to see storytelling elements within scenes while using the best compositions to tell your story beautifully.

They will have developed a reverence and respect for the birth space without becoming intrusive or disrespectful.

They will likely have developed the skill of working seamlessly with others on your birth team.

How Many Births Have They Documented?

It is appropriate to ask how many births your prospective photographer has documented. Although we all have to start somewhere (and I am so thankful for the first families that trusted me in their birth spaces), experience does matter in this genre. You may know photographers with years of experience and consider them for your birth, but they may not have had experience in such varied and uncontrolled settings, which matters.

If you’re considering having family members or friends document your birth, there are many things to consider: where to stand, what to anticipate, best angles, use of light, and respect within the birth space. Hiring a birth photographer allows you to have family fully present in the birth experience without worrying about grabbing their camera or not being fully present in these emotional moments.

2. How Do They View Birth?

Another important factor to consider is how they view birth.

You may wonder why your photographer’s views on the birth matter and why they should align with yours.

It is essential that you feel respected and honored in your birth space. Every single person present within your space can have an impact on your birth experience. Are they aware of your wishes, requests, birth plans, and history? Are they willing to leave their experiences and biases outside your space? It can be tempting for others within your space to project their experiences onto yours, and although that may seem helpful, it can also take away from your own unique and personal experience.

Having a birth team that believes in your ability to bring your child into this world can make a huge impact, particularly when you may begin to doubt yourself or your own body’s capability.

For instance, a photographer who’s never photographed or witnessed a home birth may have some anxieties or hesitations, or a photographer who is only comfortable in a homebirth setting may give off confrontational vibes in a hospital setting. Everyone is entitled to their own experiences and emotions, but it is important on your special day to honor yours.

3. Professionalism

The third factor to consider is their professionalism in the birth setting and your community.

Whether you live in a small community or a big city, birth communities tend to be small and close-knit. Having a photographer who has worked hard to develop and foster community relationships will help ensure they are accepted and respected in birth spaces.

Do they maintain professional behaviors within different types of birth locations and situations and are aware of policies within the facilities in which they work?

In this genre, your photographer must have backup gear, just in case there is a malfunction in any equipment, from their camera body to lenses, microphones, and external flashes. Documenting moments that cannot be redone requires extra diligence in ensuring your photographer has all the necessary tools.

Do they have a code of ethics they work under? Do they maintain proper business licensure and carry liability insurance? Do they have contracts to protect you and cover any incidents that may arise? Do they present themselves professionally in all situations? Do they have strong connections with other birth photographers?

5. On-Call Experience

Another important factor to consider is their experience being on call.

Birth photographers are often on call for weeks (most start ‘call’ somewhere between 37 and 38 weeks gestation and remain on-call until you deliver). That means they need a schedule that allows them to be available and ready whenever your baby decides to come, whether at night or during a family function. They’ll abstain from alcohol to stay clear-headed and focused and understand the unpredictable nature of birth, ready to remain at your birth whether it’s 2 hours or 18 (or more). They won’t put time restraints on your time together and typically stay 1-2 hours after delivery to capture important firsts such as skin-to-skin, breastfeeding, newborn exams, family meetings, and tender moments. They won’t have a heavy schedule that may conflict with your birth.

Experienced birth photographers will maintain a strong network of other local birth photographers to ensure you’re always covered if they are at another birth or in extenuating circumstances.

A great question for your prospective birth photographer is whether they work with backup photographers.

6. Do You Connect with Them?

Birth is very intimate and vulnerable. Having someone you trust with such intimate moments is vital. Are their personality and mannerisms compatible with yours? For instance, if you anticipate wanting a quiet space, does the photographer’s presence and personality demonstrate that? Does their presence make you feel comfortable? Or, are you more outgoing and conversational and more comfortable with more extroverted personality types?

6. Cost

Lastly, cost is a real factor in such a big decision. You’ll likely find a wide range of pricing from photographer to photographer in your community. Finding a birth photographer within your budget is important.

There can also be a variety of what photographers include in their packages. Do their packages include any products, such as prints or albums? Are there restrictions on time spent with you? How are your images delivered? How long is their turnaround time for providing images?

Birth photography is an investment just like wedding photography, and in my opinion, even more life-changing and important to document. Trust me; you’ll want to remember all those little details: how you looked at your baby for the first time, those first cries and tender words spoken as encouragement in the moments you needed them, the way your spouse or partner looked at you, and just how strong you are.

Most experienced birth photographers will have developed their price structure with many factors in mind, from the costs of maintaining a legitimate business to the quality gear they’ll need to capture beautiful images in whatever setting you deliver. Many birth photographers offer payment plans before your birth, which is another excellent question to ask.

Home Birth Edition

The benefits of family-centered birth care began to emerge over the last decades. Initially, this model of care started in the fields of pediatrics and geriatrics. The importance of keeping children with their family members and including families as a whole in their care plan positively impacted physical and emotional outcomes. However, over time it has grown into many other areas of medicine and brought much-needed changes to how we approach and view care and the active roles patients play in their care.

Patient- and family-centered care is working “with” patients and families, rather than just doing “to” or “for” them.

Institute for Patient and Family Centered Care

I’d love to share how this approach benefits birth experiences both at home and in the hospital setting. This post will focus on home births. This beautiful birth is a prime example of how it can look in the home setting.

Home birth provides the perfect setting for emphasizing family-centered birth care, after all, it is the birth of not just your baby, but your family as a whole, however it may look!

Of course, not everyone is a candidate for home birth, and delivering safely is always the best option. Always follow the advice of your care provider and be sure to explore and examine if home birth is a safe option for you.

As a labor and delivery nurse from 2000-2019, I enjoyed seeing many benefits of family-centered birth care emerge in my field. Patients and their families were empowered to participate actively in their care. The evolving emphasis on keeping moms and babies together, especially in those vital first hours, changed over my career for the better. Birth spaces became more family-friendly and much more comfortable and relaxed spaces. I learned firsthand how vital including family is in helping patients feel supported physically and emotionally.

During the pandemic, when families were separated from each other, and birth spaces became more and more restrictive, it felt like we had taken ten steps backward. Mothers were away from their children at home for more extended periods. Mothers weren’t allowed to have more than one support person present. It felt like a big gap had formed in the model of family-centered birth care.

I have loved being present in more and more home births in my role as a birth photographer, and I would have to say that this is part of the home and birth center births that has had the most significant impact on me; the stress on the family as the center. Also, during the pandemic, I saw more and more women turn to options outside of the hospitals, and this type of care was often the driving force.

Patient Empowerment

As a labor and delivery nurse from 2000-2019, I enjoyed seeing many benefits of family-centered birth care emerge in my field. Patients and their families were empowered to participate actively in their care. The evolving emphasis on keeping moms and babies together, especially in those vital first hours, changed over my career for the better. Birth spaces became more family-friendly and much more comfortable and relaxed spaces. I learned firsthand how essential including family is in helping. One of the primary benefits of family-centered birth is the empowerment it gives families as they play an active role in their plan of care. With communication between patients and their midwives, a safe care plan can be arrived upon. It is a team approach, with families actively choosing who is present in their birth space between midwives, doulas, and ancillary staff versus being cared for by strangers. With active planning with their birth team, decisions can be made on spaces utilized, water birth versus land birth, and family members’ roles.

I have found in my experience that family members play a much more active role in this setting. It makes sense as these are the spaces they are most comfortable in, and family members and friends know you the best.

Patients can more easily change positions in this setting, often utilizing the comfortable spaces in their homes, such as showers and bathtubs, to living spaces, such as bedrooms. I’ve even followed some of my clients on walks in the neighborhood to keep things moving along. The patient’s birth team most often tends to follow the mom’s directions on what feels comfortable versus directing it.

This family is a perfect example of family-centered care at home. This mother had given birth to two of her children in the hospital setting, and although she had good experiences, the idea of not being able to have her family around her swayed her decisions. She delivered mid-Covid and wouldn’t have been able to have her husband, children, parents, and aunts present. Family is very important to her and affected her decision on where she believed it was best for her to give birth. Well-Rounded Mama helped this family create their perfect birth story.

Dignity

Because families have actively chosen their birth team, their wishes and fears are well-known before the day they give birth. This adds layers of personalized care and adds dignity for families. Although I believe this type of care is achievable in all birth settings, a home birth adds the history of already knowing families and developing relationships with them. Their chances of everyone present in their birth space knowing them adds an extra layer of trust.

Although her family wasn’t always in the space she labored in, they were continually close by. Her children were asleep just on the other side of this wall, and her aunts and mother spoke encouraging words over her from the same area.

Health Benefits for Both Mom and Baby

One of the most significant changes I witnessed in my nursing career was the shift towards uninterrupted bonding between mom and baby during the first hour. Things that parents had long advocated for, like the baby remaining with mom that first hour, delayed cord clamping, waiting on medications, and measurements were done on mom’s chest, finally had come to fruition. But, of course, this has been standard in home births all along.

It is one of my favorite aspects to witness in home births. Midwives are hands-off (unless interventions are needed) and sit by for those first essential moments of skin-to-skin, breastfeeding, and bonding. Then, when the parents are ready, they step in for newborn assessments. It doesn’t feel rushed, and it is beautiful to see. Instead, they spend that time feeding and hydrating mom as needed, getting her to the shower (if she wants), and providing a pleasant environment for mom, baby, and the entire family.

Because families are in a familiar environment, they feel comfortable in their beds, their children feel comfortable interacting and meeting their new baby, and all comfort items are close by.

The Empowered Start names some of the many benefits to mom and baby for skin-to-skin including:

-Mothers are more likely to breastfeed during the first four months of life.

-Studies that followed moms and babies for one year found that mothers were also more likely to bond with their newborns.

-Mothers are less likely to have anxiety and experience more satisfaction with their birth experience as a whole.

-Newborns are more likely to have stable heart rates, breathing, blood sugars, and oxygen levels.

There are many resources and evidence-based studies to support this practice.

Her sons were able to come in and out of the space as they felt comfortable meeting their new baby brother. They were all immediately smitten, of course!

Women have given birth with women present much of history. Having the wisdom and support of those that have gone before you is not only helpful, but also adds an additional layer of trust, and improved experience for mothers.

I hope you enjoy their beautiful birth film. It is full of support and care from her beautiful birth team and family.

Stay tuned for my post about how to have a family-centered birth experience in the hospital setting and how you can advocate for it.

A Journey Through Postpartum Depression

Celia’s story is important; as the winner of my 2019 ‘The Story’ giveaway, I am grateful she is willing to be vulnerable and transparent in telling her journey through postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression is prevalent worldwide. In the United States, the CDC reports 1 out of 10 women reports having symptoms in the past year. Rates vary from state to state and worldwide, but some estimates are as high as 1 out of 5 women. While a history of depression and anxiety can increase the risk of postpartum depression and anxiety in women, other risk factors can play an important role, such as; poor social support, birth trauma, and recent stressful life events.

Postpartum depression has been taboo for many years, often because women and their families are afraid of speaking up about it out of shame or fear of being judged.

Celia had such a beautiful way of expressing her feelings and journey in her own words, so without any further ado, here is her story and her film.

Postpartum depression is a devastating condition that isn’t talked about enough compared to the number of women who suffer from it. These women must know they are not alone. I continuously struggle with the haunting memories and voices in my head telling me I’m a bad mother and that my son deserves more. At the same time, I feel ashamed to open up to the world regarding my condition and what feels like permanently branding me as a bad mother; that feeling pushes me to talk about it. We do NOT deserve to feel embarrassed or stripped of our character; we did not choose this. Being a mother, in my opinion, is the most selfless act. We change our bodies for ten months and carry the scars and often insecurities. We tear our bodies in labor and have next to no recovery time. For many mothers, this transition is traumatic. It’s hard to identify who you once were when there’s next to no time for yourself or doing the things that once made you feel like you.

My husband and I were thrilled when we found out we were expecting. In my heart, I always knew he was a boy. Within 13 weeks, we chose the name Oliver. I was extremely sick throughout my pregnancy; I remember being unable to eat for multiple days at a time. I was often bedridden with severe vertigo and unable to attend work.

Nonetheless, I loved every moment I got to share with my son. I read many articles on parenting, attended labor and delivery classes at our hospital of choice, prepared my hospital bag, and bought the highest-reviewed products to welcome Oliver home. Never in a million years would I have thought to prepare for what would happen.

I still get choked up thinking about the terrifying day on November 6th, 2018. I had an appointment with my high-risk pregnancy doctor, Doctor Woods, to monitor my son’s well-being. The technician searched for my son in the ultrasound, then immediately called the doctor. I was informed that I had 2 cm of amniotic fluid, and 5 cm was typically cause for concern which she would send someone to the hospital for an IV. They immediately contacted my delivery doctor. I was told I needed to deliver directly before my son went into distress and didn’t even have enough time to run home to grab my delivery bag.

Everything I had prepared for went out the window.

I expected to be sent to multiple waiting rooms (as rehearsed in my classes) but was quickly taken into a private room with multiple monitors on my stomach. The induction began almost immediately. I recall the pain being unbearable. There were no breaks in between my contractions; there was no tranquility or magic at the moment. I continued to vomit throughout the induction and recall being weak from a lack of rest, water, and food. While I most feared the epidural, I was weak and hardly conscious of its application.
Twenty-five hours later, it was finally time to push. My epidural was turned off so I would have the urge to push, but the pain was unbearable. I couldn’t tell the constant pain from contractions. I recall the nurse yelling that I had to push my son out, but I mentally shut down. My doctor was assisting another patient (later communicated to me), and the only ones in the room were my husband, a nurse, and an EMT student brought to learn. I remember crying, trying to communicate that I couldn’t push him through, no matter how hard I tried. Instead, my nurse took the route of “tough love” and told me, “well, it’s too late” or “you have to.”
I felt backed into the corner, in pain, with no-one understanding that my son would not fit (perhaps through the stress and fear I was physically not stretching). In what felt like an eternity later, my doctor appeared, and I received an episiotomy. My son was delivered on November 7th, but it was not a magical moment.

I lay there, shaking from the pain, while the medical supplies on my doctor’s gown (probably a stethoscope) reflected the bloody mess of my flesh being sewn…slowly. It was like a nightmare, I recall pleading for something to help with the pain, but no one listened.

I felt embarrassed. All the courage I had practiced, the selflessness of reminding myself, “all that matters is getting my son here safely,” had failed me. I was simply the worst patient of their day, the mother who couldn’t do what all women’s bodies were built to do. There was no time to focus on my mental health; immediately, I was told it was time for “skin-to-skin contact” and nursing. My son immediately loved me. When they handed him to me, he knew I was his mother and stopped crying. When my family tried to hold him, he cried until he was in my arms once more. I, however, did not feel that bond. Instead, I felt duty. I knew my duty was to nurse him every two hours, to do everything the doctors instructed me to do.

Reflecting on it now, after all the traumatic months my body endured, it was vital for me to rest. Instead, I bore additional responsibilities with no rest. I was too busy adjusting to my new list of duties to slow down and ask myself if I was ok if I needed help.

I was discharged on November 8th. I recall the night it “hit me.” My husband asked to shower, and for the first time, I would be left alone with my son, who was resisting rest. As I sat there, an overwhelming flood of emotions hit me. I did not want this life; I had made a huge mistake. I was not fit to be a mother, and there was no going back. What would everyone think of me? What would my husband say? Would he leave me? I broke down crying and could not stop. I was in the darkest place. My life felt like a box of emptiness, and everywhere I turned was a wall telling me I could not get out.

I remember watching my husband confronted with the news, the exhausted look on his face as he desperately tried to put my son to sleep. He looked miserable. But I could not get up—the weight of these emotions lay over my body. I couldn’t move. I insulted myself and ensured I felt every bit of the self-deserving misery for being selfish and ordered myself to get up…but I could not”

Although my family told me to call them if I needed anything, I was too ashamed. I asked my husband if we could call his mother because she had previously offered to stay the night if we needed her. I fell asleep during the time that she arrived. Whispers awoke me outside of my bedroom. She told him it was too late for me to change my mind, that it was motherhood and I needed to get up. Dread filled me; could anyone help? Was I stuck?

Suddenly I no longer felt like an adult; I felt like a pathetic child being scolded. Early in the morning, she awoke me to breastfeed my son. I struggled as he failed to latch and screamed of hunger. His cries pierced through me; I hated being a mom. I hated breastfeeding. But I couldn’t tell her that because I feared judgment.
While our son slept, we called every hotline we could google. We even called the hospital and my OBGYN office. The hospital staff asked to speak with me and asked if I would hurt my child or myself. I was terrified they’d take my child and felt disgusted at myself for even being a risk. When they felt I wasn’t an immediate threat, they told me they suggested getting admitted to a psychiatric ward. I asked what would become of my son and husband, who was also a first-time father and was told they’d be fine without me.

We went to my sister’s house to visit my family. The truth is it brought comfort being surrounded by parents who know how to attend to my son. They held him while I lay. Still, I stayed silent about my feelings and what I was experiencing, hoping they would somehow go away. For the first week, my husband’s mother stayed with us. She assisted in watching him at night so that we could get some rest. But I couldn’t sleep. I was devastated, depressed, and terrified. Overwhelmed and crying, I texted my sister, “there is something wrong with me.” She assured me it was normal, and everything settled down after 60 days. But my final text to her that night said, “I don’t think I love him (my son).”

I had no idea what I was up against; no one in my family had ever suffered through postpartum depression. My biggest fear was that I would end up on the news that I would harm or kill my child. During this rough period, I did the only thing I could truly admire about myself…I informed everyone around me that I was “sick.” Many of the responses were that it was normal. I was even told it was a result of my “gut” and deficiencies in vitamins. I felt pressured to breastfeed, although it was one of my biggest triggers aside from my son crying. I felt ashamed to give my son formula by my in-laws. I would hear my mother-in-law arguing with my husband outside our bedroom. I felt so insecure about my underproduction that I would feed my son formula throughout the day and pump breastmilk to the store so she could feed him when she’d watch him. I hid that I couldn’t produce enough or that he wouldn’t latch. I even recall a moment when 2 ounces of breastmilk spilled, and I nearly had a mental breakdown.

Returning to work was a relief. It allowed me to focus on feeling like an adult again and not feeling “broken” at home. No one at work knew I was suffering, and that helped. Everyone talked about how devastating it was to be away from their newborns, which made me feel guilty. For the next eight months, I didn’t spend longer than a few minutes alone with my son. I stayed at my sister’s after work every day until midnight, when my husband came home. I endured so many moments of pain during this period. My in-laws would often talk about me in reference to mental health, although I sat across the room. Every word pierced me, I had always held myself highly as an intellectual person, and now I felt stripped, insulted, betrayed, and certain they thought I was “crazy”. . Yet, all I could do was thank them for helping me with my son while I was at work.

I recall nights being the most difficult. It was November, so it would become dark around 5 pm and extremely cold. My son slept at 1 ½ to 2-hour intervals. I often questioned how much sleep deprivation it took to die. Due to my stitches, I was scared to eat solids (because stools could tear your stitches), so I often didn’t eat and just consumed coffee as a pick-me-up. I almost felt “fine” in the day (I usually had my family help with my son), but it would fall apart at night. I recall lighting multiple candles and even leaving our Christmas tree up to distract me from the “darkness.”

One memory that stands out to me is when my husband and I were sitting on our couch. My mother-in-law had just put my son to bed and take him to her room. I recall crying, telling my husband I was no longer “me.” How unfair it was that everything I’d ever been proud of, every trait I’d ever developed, was gone, and all I had left were little glimpses of memories. I often had dark thoughts in my head, and sometimes they consisted of fantasizing if I abandoned my family or ended my life or if we lost our son and if our life could get back to “normal.” Every day I felt like I was battling for my soul, and the best I could do some days was ignore my thoughts. I’d block the dark thoughts, pay no attention to them, and mindlessly complete my duties as a mother. I stopped trying to ask myself if things would get better and focused on completing one day at a time.

Many times in my journey, I felt “recovered” and then would relapse. I knew I’d relapse because from feeling secure and understanding my son, I’d suddenly feel terrified and like he was a stranger. His cries would send chills throughout my body, and nothing could keep me warm. I had a breakthrough about 2-3 months postpartum where I recall looking at my husband and telling him, “I think I love him.”
I am 2 years postpartum, and I truly love being a mother. I never knew I could feel so at peace and overwhelming love. Sometimes at work, I almost start crying when I think about how much I miss and love him and watch his videos or look at his pictures on my lunch break. He drives me; he inspires me. I could not, nor do not ever want to picture my life without him. Oliver is my best friend and the little love of my life.

When I watch the news and see stories about mothers who harmed their children, it truly breaks my heart. I don’t know why I was blessed with the ability to recover, but I recall feeling so close to losing the battle. To all those women, I am so sorry they lost the fight. And yes, it is a fight. I remember two different personalities and voices fighting in my head between what was right and how I felt. As mentioned, it didn’t feel only like “depression” I felt like I was splitting into multiple personalities.
What I felt was most essential for my recovery was the love and understanding I had from my family and my husband. My husband allowed me to speak freely regarding all my emotions and thoughts. My family held and loved my son when I couldn’t. I am eternally grateful to them for that.

Signs of postpartum depression and/or anxiety are not limited to but may include:

• Withdrawing from family and friends
• Crying or feeling sad more than you normally do.
• Feeling disconnected from your infant.
• Feelings of anger, confusion, disorientation.
• Feeling guilty or ashamed of not being a good mom.

If you or someone you know may be struggling through postpartum depression or anxiety, please reach out for help. Contact your healthcare provider, and if you are experiencing thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, please call 1-800-273-8255.

A Las Vegas Birth Story

There are so many fears and doubts that can hold people back from documenting their birth. I understand so many of those fears and doubts.

Birth is one of life’s most intimate and life-changing moments we experience. You are vulnerable and at your rawest. I would argue that this is why you should document your birth story.

Birth is made up of moments that change us at our very core, moments that cannot be relived or redone. It is also one of the most emotional times in our lives. It can become hazy and fade quickly amidst the loss of sleep, physical changes, and fleeting memories.

Emily found me after seeing a birth story shared on social media and was immediately interested! She says that she hadn’t really considered documenting her birth until she saw this post, and then saw my name mentioned in the thread as a local birth photographer and videographer. She reached out to me, and I am so glad that she did!

One of Emily’s main drives in wanting to document her birth was the fact that her family lives out of the country. Emily and Daniel met while he was serving in the Air Force in Europe. Her family is all still overseas, and wanting to have a way to share their birth with her family was important to her. (Be sure to see their beautiful birth film at the end of the post!)

There was much anticipation and excitement in the months and weeks approaching their birth, and they were so happy to have a way to share that with family and friends who could not be by their sides.

As Daniel is still on active duty, their birth would take place at Mike O’Callaghan Hospital at Nellis Air Force Base here in Las Vegas. Because it is a military hospital, it was necessary for them to arrange clearance for me onto the base. This was the perfect opportunity for us to meet in person and have a nice coffee date (I meet all my birth clients before their birth either in person or via FaceTime). We talked about what was most important to her and Daniel, the types of images and footage they were most interested in, what her biggest fears and concerns were, and I got to see exactly where I needed to go when the big day came.

As Emily passed her due date, an induction of labor was set up.

One of Emily’s wishes was to tell the whole story of their birth experience to share with her family and friends. So, we decided that I would come as she was being admitted to the unit and capture some of the early details of checking in and getting settled, and then would head home and wait for active labor before returning. That way, they could get the rest they needed, all the while adding additional details to their birth story.

This was my first experience at our military hospital, and I was so impressed by their staff and the beautiful experience they gave Emily and Daniel. As a retired labor nurse of 19 years at another local hospital, I am always curious about how different care might be in other facilities. I do have to say each hospital has its own vibe and subtle differences. I think Nellis often gets a bad rap because it is a military hospital, but I have to say I walked away from this experience in awe of the care they provided this family.

After they were all settled in and the plan of care discussed and initiated, I stepped out and went home to get some rest and await their call for my return. In the early morning hours, Emily let me know that she had progressed and had an epidural placed for pain relief. It was the perfect time for me to head back, be close by, and be ready to document more of their story.

It had been almost 12 hours since their induction began, and Emily hadn’t really gotten much sleep but had received pain relief with her epidural placement, so she was able to finally squeeze in a small nap and some games with Daniel. It was a fun way to pass the time.

I love when clients bring personal items to keep at their bedside. It adds such a personal element and something beautiful to focus on. Emily kept a picture of her mother, who is no longer with her, at her bedside.

As the morning wore on, Emily became more and more uncomfortable and the staff did their best to keep her comfortable between position changes and adjustments to her epidural.

Even with the return of discomfort and the hours passed with no cervical change, Emily and Daniel remained positive and patient, trusting the process. I was really in awe of how strong Emily was. She kept such a beautiful attitude through it all.

As Emily labored through another shift change with still not much cervical change, her night shift nurse came in and advocated for Emily, trying everything she could to help her baby rotate. Her advocacy and interventions were just what Emily needed at this stage, and she quickly progressed to complete dilation and was soon ready to push.

Emily was a rock star who worked hard to deliver baby Daniel. Thank goodness this last stage was relatively quick after all those hours of laboring. There was some distress upon delivery, so baby Daniel was quickly taken to the radiant warmer for assessment and stabilization.

Daniel and Emily’s birth team were so coordinated and capable and worked seamlessly to assess and stabilize Daniel so that he could quickly return to his mama’s chest for skin-to-skin.

Finally, Emily had in her arms the baby she had worked so hard for, waited so patiently for, and anticipated for so long.

There was so much story, emotion, and intimate details throughout Emily and Daniel’s birth story, it is one of my favorites to date. So grateful to have been trusted in capturing it.

Nothing captures the emotions and beauty in birth better than video, and I love how beautiful their birth story is in film.