New blog about Everyone needs to see this raw and real postpartum photo now
When I first saw a raw, unedited, unselfconscious postpartum photo of a new mom breastfeeding her baby just after birth, it filled me with so many emotions. As a mom of three, I remember these precious first minutes with your baby, that you worked so bone-crushingly hard to bring into the world. How in awe of your baby you feel.
But sadly, even in these life-affirming moments, I also recall being in a state of shock over how my body looked and felt. As I marveled over the person I’d waited nearly a year to meet, I still squirmed in discomfort over my newly-deflated belly, and couldn’t help but instinctually cover it up for photos.
Not so in this photo of new mom-of-two Alice, taken by Keri-Anne Dilworth of New Zealand-based First Light Birth Photography. Here, we see the glory of a shame-free, and completely un-curated postpartum moment.
And. It. Is. Breathtaking.
“I love the rawness of birth photography with no need to pose or even be aware that there is a photographer in the room,” Alice told BabyCenter in an email. “The delivery room has a strange effect for me in terms of any inhibitions I have about my body.”
Like most women, Alice admits she is normally more self-conscious. “But once in the hospital, it is not about me but getting to meet this new person that I’ve been carrying for nine months.” Still, she confesses, “The postpartum body is absolutely beautiful but it’s also far more complicated than that. I think it’s much easier to look at a photo of someone else and see the beauty in the image than it is to appreciate that image of yourself.”
Have truer words ever been spoken? Indeed, I see so much honesty, and courage, and beauty in this image of Alice. But if I was looking at a photograph of myself, I would miss all of that, and instead, likely focus on how tired I look, or how dirty my hair is, or how I still look pregnant even though the baby is out.
Alice is nonetheless able to declare that she loves this photo of herself and her baby, Hayley.
She goes on to say about seeing the image later, “The first thing I noticed was my focus on Hayley and the moment we were sharing, the tiger stripes I noticed second, then the hand of my husband gently stroking her foot.” Alice admits when she first came across the photo, her instinct was to want it cropped to hide what she lovingly calls her “tiger stripes.”
“But know now that I won’t alter it and will wear them with pride.”
The photo, which was taken less than an hour after the delivery, represents more than just acceptance of her postpartum body. “This was her first latch and feed,” Alice says, adding, “I really struggled with breastfeeding my first child so I just remember being really focused on this first feed and just in awe of this new person who I had waited so long to meet.”
Now, Alice says she doesn’t feel any outside pressure to lose her baby weight, but it’s still on her mind, and she can’t help but return to the scale to track her progress. Having suffered significant blood loss post-birth, she has also realized how important it is to be kind to herself and her body. “My main thing now is to feel fit and strong again,” she says.
Here’s hoping this powerful postpartum photo will empower more women to embrace their bodies, and focus on what really matters, as Alice did.
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