April is Cesarean Awareness Month! In honor of it, I’m showcasing a handful of my favorite photographs of cesarean births. Over the past four years of birth work, I’ve had a little over a handful of clients birth surgically. I’ve only been allowed in the OR three times, but I’m grateful to those care providers who allowed my clients to be supported continuously by me, their doula, and to have their birth stories full captured. On one other occasion, a caring nurse offered to snap photos for the family, so I put my camera on settings that I thought would work well in the OR, gave her a crash tutorial on focusing and shooting, and off she went. Her act of kindness allowed the family to receive full coverage of their birth and I was able to include the photographs into their final gallery. Birth photography is an art, but it’s also a therapeutic tool and assists parents as they process their birth experiences, whether positive, negative, or a mix of the two. I’m grateful for each of my cesarean clients who were able to have their stories fully documented.

I strongly believe that every birthing individual, regardless of how they give birth, are strong and incredible beings! And I believe that every birth experience can be an empowering one. What makes the difference is not how someone births, but how they are treated in the birth process and if they feel supported, heard, and seen during that pivotal time in their life.

So please have a scroll through some of my favorite images—take your time, soak in the magic, the joy, the love, the beauty…the strength.

And if you ever have questions of how to prepare for an empowering cesarean birth, please reach out! I’m happy to help you discover all your options.