When these first time parents contacted me asking me to be their doula and birth photographer, they were already at their 36th week of pregnancy and I had plans to be out-of-state during their estimated due date. When I explained to them that there was a strong possibility that I could miss their birth due to my travels, I was thinking they would reconsider and invite someone else to support and photograph them. Much to my delight and gratitude, they firmly insisted that they were fine with the risk and that I was the photographer for them. I’m so glad they did. Choosing a doula and/or a birth photographer requires a client to consider skill, experience, and style. However, the most important element in choosing your birth team is making sure that you “click” with each person. You want to make sure that your personalities and energies are compatible and that you all enjoy being together. I instantaneously liked this family and I’m grateful that they, in return, liked me and took the risk to have me join them on their birthing day.
We squeezed in our prenatal visits before I flew down to Florida to attend another birth, all the while asking their son to politely await my return. Wonderfully the little one stayed put and I was able to join his parents for his birth. On par with most of the births I attend, I received the call in the middle of the night that labor was beginning. I smiled remembering how surprised the father was when learning that I frequently leave for births long after dark and I appreciated his touching concern about whether or not it would be okay to wake me. When I joined them at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Mom was working hard and Dad was at her side offering encouragement.
After many hours of incredible stamina, hard work, multiple poses and positioning, and lots of cheerleading from their awesome nurse, the parents went for a cesarean birth. At this particular hospital doulas and photographers are not allowed in the OR or recovery rooms, so I was unable to document their child’s birth on my own. However, their wonderful nurse offered to snap some shots for us. I turned my camera to the settings that I thought would work best for the birth and gave the nurse a crash course in how to focus and capture images. Graciously, she did a great job and the parents were still able to receive the photographs that they earnestly desired.
I returned to the hospital a couple hours after the birth once they were moved into their postpartum room and visitors were allowed. I was introduced to their sweet, beautiful son and captured some of the family’s early moments together. The room was filled with magic as the new parents marveled at the human-being they created, all the while processing the fact that they were now parents.
