A prominent hospital in Brisbane, Australia has put an end to any presence of pro photographers during the birth of babies. This has led to outrage among some in the photography community and a petition to end the hospital's stance.
This week, the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital has both formalized and reiterated its stance that no professional photographers can be present in the operating room while doctors and nurses are working to safely deliver the baby. Explaining the decision, a hospital spokesperson said:
Complications are rare, but can arise very quickly during a birth, so it’s crucial our team can perform their duties with the utmost care and attention, with no other distraction, so they can continue to provide focused care.
However, the decision has been met with outrage, so much so that one woman has organized a petition on change.org in order to reverse the policy. To date, the petition has received more than 10,000 signatures. The creator of the petition, Michelle Palasia, says:
A birth story cannot be documented without the images of your baby entering the world and the emotions experienced by your self and your birth team... To strip families of this powerful tool and leave them with an incomplete story is reprehensible.
But here's where it gets a little murky. According to the hospital spokesperson, fathers are not only allowed to capture the moment a newborn enters the world, but are welcomed to do so should they choose. That's not what Palasia's petition says though. She writes:
This is not just a policy targeted at birth photographers. No photography of your baby entering the world will be permitted...not by your partner, not by your Doula, not by anyone in your birth team!
This quote seems to omit the word "fathers." Whether that's deliberate or not, I don't know, but the hospital seems quite clear in that fathers can take photos in the delivery room, but no one else can.
Personally, I support the hospital's decision. My wife gave birth to our second daughter just eight weeks ago, and there's no way on Earth I wanted to be anywhere near that delivery room, least of all with a camera snap, snap, snapping away inches away from staff as they did their job. Not because I'm squeamish, simply because I wanted 100 percent focus and attention of the doctors and nurses on my wife and their job at hand. The idea of a photographer scurrying hither and thither around the theater room trying to snap the "perfect moment" was something I had absolutely zero interest in and couldn't even countenance, to be honest. The health and safety of my wife and baby were paramount in my thoughts. Nothing else mattered. For the record, my wife felt the same way.
Now, that's just me. Of course there will be varying opinions, and I would love to see a healthy, respectful discussion take place here from all perspectives. What do you think of the hospital's decision and the petition that's followed? I look forward to reading your comments below.
Sorry if my writing confused my point, I am saying that celebrities do it, not everyday people, but this may give everyday people to hire a photographer. Embarrassing the children is the problem, they presume to think their own children have no rights.
Just out of curiosity , I wonder how much crap the hospital had to put up with before the decided to put their foot down.
I didn't know that pro photography during giving birth even was a thing!
Me being a father of three, there is something absolutely intimate about this miracle of life taking place, and I would've been offended if there had been a photographer present, trying to get the best angle.
Kudos to the hospital , there's a time and place for everything, but this ain't it.
Come on , what's next? Livw online feed of the conception? 😉
I agree. Looking at the language used in the petition, it seems more like a case of ‘hey, I’m losing a big, fat chunk of change with this decision. That’s reprehensible!’
It's all uproar and petition until the mother or kid will get actual (permanent) complications or even death that could have been prevented if the photographer wasn't present or caused an accident - I fully agree that there is a time and place for everything, even photography and creating memories. The hospital is a professional, medical institution and if they feel its better without photographers - we should respect just as much as we have certain demands for our professional sapces.
And the wishes of the patient to have a photographer present should not be respected?
I consider there is a time and place for everything - including choosing to respect the wishes of the professional institution you wish to choose to give birth at. Also because there are other options, like home-birth for example with a professional midwife, that will allow for both to happen without demanding something that they choose to not cater too anymore.
I do not feel that a professional should bow because safety precautions are taken - Maybe I feel strongly about this as I have rules myself for my studio and as much as some clients may disagree with that, if you hire me for a service - those rules apply. If they do not wish to follow those, I will gladly transfer them through.
We can't have it all and I trust medical people who study many many many years for degree over anything else.
To be fair, in my case, I was told that photography is allowed and it's only on delivery day that they told me that they meant that I could take photos in the room before and after, but just no photos or video of the actual delivery (when she's pushing). Given the circumstances, I wasn't exactly going to get into an argument about the misunderstanding as there were more pressing matters (mainly the fact that she was fully dilated when they told me that I couldn't take pictures anymore).
So if nothing else, at least this professional institution is making their policy clear.
Good decision.
If enough folks are so adamant about capturing every stage of gestation, birthing facilities will arise to meet that need. As more and more pregnancies are becoming complicated, I can see that liability and infection control issues will keep non-essential persons out of traditional hospital delivery rooms.
Curious statement there. Are pregnancy complications becoming more commonplace? It's not something I've ever looked into...
https://blog.medstarwashington.org/2017/03/28/high-risk-pregnancy-increase/
The increase of fertility specialists helping women conceive that previous couldn't has much to do with the increase in complicated deliveries.
The tone-deaf heartless hospital bureaucracy ignores the fact that a successful birth requires the active participation of not only a qualified well-equipped birth team, but also of an Instagram team of still and video photographers, a live rock band and an incense witch.
If it isn’t seen on at least 6 social media platforms, can any of us comfirm that it actually happened at all?
Unfortunately Birth (and newborn) Photography is a completely unregulated industry worldwide and as such photographers have no training or education specifically in this area. This causes multiple layers of complexities for both the hospitals & the photographers. This is something that is a much broader issue and which needs to be addressed, prior to the debate of whether or not a photographer should be allowed in the delivery room or not.
Breeders always have such interesting 'problems'.....
Classy.
I'll note that the creator of the petition, Michelle Palasia, does advertise herself as a birth photographer, so she's got her own interests at stake.
As a father and photographer, I did photograph the nitty-gritty moments of the births of both my children (funny, though, I'm the only one interested in seeing them).
I'll bet there is a story not told about annoying "professional" photographers behaving badly--probably not heeding the instructions of medical personnel while they're flitting around getting just the right shot.
I think economic motivations are at the forefront of the petition. But that’s just me....
The reason is that they don't want photographers to be WITNESSES to any errors and mistakes made. I was sent to doctor a few years ago when my blood work showed I might have cancer. During the procedure I requested that my wife of 47 years be present in the room. It was a non-sterile environment, there were no infection issues, no getting in the way issues. In fact, my wife had always been present during all of my procedures that did not require a sterile environment. I, likewise attended many of her procedures over the years. But when I was told my wife could not sit in on the procedure, I asked why? They told me she might faint. I told them she has been with me during much worse procedures and she is not the fainting kind. SHE TOUGH COOKIE! But the doctor and office manager refused. I explained I understand the procedure, it was not my first and my wife had always been there. I could not imagine the big deal, then it hit me... They did not want to RISK of my wife being in the room should somebody have made a mistake, an error or harmed me in any way. They found it much easier to say NO! and remove all chances of a third-party witness being in the room. I told the office manager that and she got pissed. She refused to do my procedure, because I insulted her. So, because I pointed out the very high likely them considering my wife a third-party witness and that is why she could not stay, the office manager and finally the Doctor said they would not test me for cancer, because... I WAS RUDE! I said to them, "So, I have been sent to you to be tested, because my Primary Care Doctor suspects I might have cancer and YOU have decided, you won't test me to see if I might die from a life threatening illness, because I dared to be RUDE TO YOU? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?" So... there are LIABILITY RISKS in having a third-party DOCUMENT a birthing session, should that session go wrong.
... and for the record, I had no cancer, still don't. Nor did I ever go back to that kind, caring, compassionate doctor.
I am 50/50 on this decision. Many birth photographers & newborn photographers have been doing it for a very long time and they have the training they need. I am sure god forbid something bad was to occur the photographer would leave. I am also sure that the photographers understand not to get in the way of the doctors and nurses. (I am speaking for the majority of professionals who take their job seriously). I am sure there are a few photographers who have no business doing a birth or newborn session but they do anyway, which is probably why this is happening. I have seen some amazing birth photos and if I were able to have children I would love to have it documented. I think it is the mother & father's decision, but if the photographer for some reason gets in the way then the doctor should have the right to have them removed. I think there is more to this ban that isn't being told. Something had to have occurred for this to happen. I think this stinks for the parents to be who want this moment documented and now wont be able to do so.
Fathers are more than welcome to document the moment with camera.
That is true, but that would kind of take away from the moment for them if they are trying to take photos at the same time.