Would you like to have your delivery photographed?

[seizethecamera]

I photographed a delivery recently and it was the most wonderful and moving experience. The parents asked me to be present and are now thrilled to have that moment documented.

I was certainly surprised to hear their request! I wonder if this would interest or horrify most expecting mothers?

Yes. I would love to have some pics of DS's birth. However, it was a calm and easy (well, as easy as it ever gets) labour and birth.

DD's birth on the other hand wouldn't have made for great snaps, maybe at the point of delivery but labour was me, on a bed, groaning. We don't need pictures of that.

Very difficult to plan any of that so inviting someone beforehand to take photos might not be feasible really.

We have photos of DS1 the moment he was born, but none of the actual birth. I was pretty out of it on the entonox so couldn't remember a lot about his birth I'm also a bit of a control freak and thought it was a bit of a shame I never got to see his arrival. DH took photos of DS2 crowning and then filmed DS3s actual birth. It was a good couple of weeks before I could watch it but I'm so glad we did this. It was lovely to watch. Having said that, it was a very easy, fast birth. I think that had there been any complications or it had been traumatic, then I don't think I could have watched it! I also don't think that either DH or I would have wanted someone else at the births purely to record it.

I'm going off on a tangent now, but on the subject of having an extra person at the birth I've never got my head around the amount of people at some documentary (eg A Baby Story) births! I saw one where the labouring woman had her DH, parents, sister, in laws AND her Pastor!

Yes except when pooing, screaming amd vomiting. And the haemorrhage would have been a bit monochrome, photo-wise.

Tbh I can't think of much worse than creating a digital record of the baby crowning.

No. No. No.

The idea of having a stranger in the room who isn't anything to do with the birth (ie midwife/doula) is awful.

Horrify here too.

No no no!

There was blood.....everywhere with both of mine. Everywhere.

Arrhhg to mirrors. DH didn't even want to cut e cord.

Yes i wish i had photos of mine, i have one in labour with dd.

I wish i had some pics of my labour with ds4, pool birth. Would have been lovely to have a pic of me and him im the pool.

My ds1 was at dd's birth and took pics on his phone but someone stole his phone before we got the chance to download them :(

Oh no 5madthings! that's such a shame!!
This is all so interesting. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. I must say I don't have children myself. The reason I'm putting feelers out to see how women feel about documenting their births, is because it struck me as such a special and seminal moment in person's/family's life. This seems obvious to say, but you just can't describe the look on a mother and father's face when they see their child come into the world. I realized there are probably few more poignant events in life that bring everybody together. So as a photographer, it was fascinating!

I wouldn't want a proffessional photographer in the room, or have the actual birth photographed. However I've seen some lovely photos done by birth photographers of the older siblings going off with grandparents so I'm going to ask DH to do that, as well as the one of me and the baby having skin to skin, baby being weighed ones he usually does.

I spent most of latent labour with DS3 pacing up and down the corridors in the hospital. When I heard they were going to tear down that part of the hospital I went and took photos of the corridors where I had been pacing [soppy idiot emoticon]

Yes - the photo I have of me in the pool with DS is my favourite photograph ever. We also have some lovely shots taken just after his birth, I only wish there were more. I'd want exclusive rights to the photos though!

LO was photographed very soon after birth with me, OH and the MW. Lovely pictures that I will treasure forever.

If someone had pulled a camera out while I was in labour/delivering him, I probably would've killed them with my bare hands.