Aubrie Moates, an Alabama-based birth photographer, has already captured 35 births this year, and she is preparing to photograph four more this week alone!
So, Aubrie knows a thing or two about powerful birth moments, and catching them on film. Previously, she was kind enough to share the images that shook her to the core in 2015. And now, Aubrie is giving BabyCenter a peek at the birth moments that have taken her breath away this year… so far.
Like this one.
This dad was just a bit overcome during the birth of his child! And this image…
As a mom who considers pulling out my own baby one of the most significant moments of my lifetime, a photograph of another mama experiencing this, stopped me in my tracks.
Here is another beautiful photograph Aubrie captured of a new baby, who found his thumb right away! My own daughter discovered her favorite digit shortly after her birth, and three years later, still self-soothes by sucking on her thumb.
Please scroll through this slideshow of the most powerful birth images the incomparably talented Aubrie Moates of Hello Baby Birth Photography has captured in 2016… so far!
This mama's abuela (grandma) shares her words of encouragement (in her native language, Spanish), and a thumbs up, through tears.
Surprise! After 5 years of struggling to conceive, this family was just starting the process of adoption, when they found out they were expecting a baby girl!
How can you not love a doctor who smiles right along with you?
Mama and her OB were prepared to attempt a VBAC, but baby had other plans. Grandpa, who was visiting all the way from India, couldn't hold back the tears. His chin trembled; he so wanted his daughter to have the birth she had hoped for.
These are parents to twin, micro-preemie girls, born at 23 weeks. One twin went to live in heaven. The other was whisked away to the NICU, where she stayed for four months, until she was big enough to go home. Mama never got to hear either baby cry at birth. Until now. She also didn't know the baby's gender ahead of time. It was a girl.
Dad takes a moment to compose himself.
"There have only been a couple instances I've witnessed where mama requested that she 'catch' her own baby... and WOW, is it powerful," Aubrie said. "This was their 5th and last baby, and the only shot mama specifically requested was this."
As Aubrie arrived at the hospital for this birth, she says, "The doula sticks her head out the door and yells 'RUN!'" Mama was on her hands and knees on the floor. "And I see a little hand being born." Yes, she gave birth on the floor.
This moment between a soon-to-be mom and dad took Aubrie's breath away.
This daddy was speechless when his daughter was born.
Tears, sweat, laugher... every emotion combined equals birth," Aubrie says. "Witnessing a family fall in love with their creation is priceless."
The tiniest, most perfectly-formed newborn fingers.
"Natural birth goes from 100 mph to peace in no time flat," Aubrie recounts.
This sweet newborn needed a little assistance to get that Apgar score up.
He found his thumb!
"Nothing more powerful than when a family gathers for prayer around a new baby," Aubrie says.
On the home stretch of their NICU stay! Mom and dad can now share smiles instead of tears... there is hope!
"Even the toughest guys are no match for the OR. Thankfully, daddy made a graceful descent to the floor (with the help of staff), and had a bed in recovery right next to mommy!"
The mom who was preparing to take her babies home, was visiting the twin boys, born at 23 weeks, in the NICU. "Those weeks and months spent in the NICU were so uncertain," Aubrie says, adding "As any NICU parent knows, it's often one step forward and two steps back."
When contractions take over.
This was, according to Aubrie, a beautiful, magical home birth. "A first for me, as a photographer. Watching, waiting until the wee hours of the morning. Amazed at the endurance Mama had right up until she pushed her baby boy out."
Dad asks to dedicate his baby to the Lord, before his cord is even cut.
Can’t you almost feel the emotion in these powerful photographs? Perhaps one of them brought you back to a particularly moving moment during your own labor or birth. Or, maybe an image has made you feel less afraid about an upcoming delivery.
Because as you can see, no matter how you get there, no matter who passes out, or how much you may struggle, ache, and suffer, there is so much love to be had. So much. And birth is just so beautiful, and powerful, and miraculous, that it is worth preserving and marveling over, each and every time.
Which image speaks to you the most?
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