A photographer has documented her own child’s birth, taking a series of snaps as she underwent a C-section. The images show the incredible first moments of her son's life.
A photographer for over six years, Alex Mooney has been shooting birth stories for the last three-and-a-half. Having a great passion for birth photography, and after deciding that her fifth child was to be her last, she wanted to document the occasion. Speaking exclusively to Fstoppers, she explained:
This was my last baby and was a very special birth in that regard, but also that it was our rainbow babe after our fourth was stillborn in October 2018, and I so wanted a healing, positive C-Section to go out on since my last one was quite the opposite.
Her OB was supportive of the idea when she proposed it. Mooney had her birth photographer Victoria on hand to capture everything that was going on, but she was determined to capture the moment baby Teddy was lifted out for herself. With her husband at her side ready to pass the camera over, Mooney explains she first took a few snaps of him, and once the drape was dropped, her focus turned to the newborn.
As for the challenges, having an IV in her arm, pulse ox on her finger, and blood pressure cuff on her other arm made for a less-than-ideal shooting setup.
Check out the incredible resulting set of images below.
See more of Alex's work at her website and Facebook page, and Victoria's can also be found via her website and on Facebook.
Images courtesy Alexandria Mooney Photography, and Victoria of Fresh Pine Photography and used with permission.
That's ambitious to get some herself! I got shots from my wife's c-section and had a nurse take photos on my phone. They are great images to have
Hmmmm, given me an idea.
I’ll be having a vasectomy soon.
Pro tip, do not jump for at least a week after you get it done. Walk gently.
Tip from experience? ouch!
The tip should not have been affected by a vasectomy. I think you went to a sketchy surgeon.
Kudos to her for recording her own journey for future familial posterity; I get it.
But there's a special kind of pathology in feeling the need to share every personal intimate moment with the world via photographs that I just am not able to wrap my head around.
I feel like you're pitting this against vanity snaps, which isn't a fair comparison.
Admittedly I can't speak of the motivation of someone feeling the urge to share such intimate photos with the rest of humanity. But if not for vanity, what other motivation would seem most likely? At the very least, it's a serious disconnect with good taste and what is appropriate. Really, what's the purpose?
I know I captured it to share with my daughter when she's older. You only get one chance to capture it and you can always decide later to keep them or not.
Every birth is special, not in a "awww what a cute baby" sense, but in a this is the way we come into existence and life and what we do with it is our own.
I certainly wouldn't have birth photos hung on the wall, or force relatives to look through them in an album. But I do enjoy having a document of when my first born came into this world
I understand your sentiment, and can relate to it for sure. I just don't understand sharing these moments with the rest of humanity.
Yuck
This will be fun to see on the tv in the living room after Christmas dinner in five - twenty years (after uncle creepy’s funeral ceremony video)GOOD TIMES !
She could of lost the lot on that single card slot camera...
I have been contacted to shoot to live births in December 2019, This will be my first. “Baby” birth project. Any tips or ideas love to hear back. I like creative projects, This will be interesting.
'Incredible first moments...' of an event which happens millions of times a day -breeders always want to feel sooooo special and their spawn soooooo wonderful.