The process of giving birth to a child is ᴍᴇssʏ, ʀᴀᴡ and ʙʀᴜᴛᴀʟ but it is also filled with beauty and strength that make you proud to be a woman.
Earlier in the month of March, a birth photographer Vanessa Mendez documented the home birth of baby Indigo June with mother Vanessa DeCosta and shared the real, raw and inspiring images on Facebook. The images soon went viral all over the world with more than 376,000 shares, because they highlighted the beauty of birth and the incredible strength mothers possess.
On the morning of March 11, Mendez got a call from her client Vanessa saying that she was in ʟᴀʙᴏʀ with her second child.
Knowing that her husband, who is in the US Aʀᴍʏ’s Pʜʏsɪᴄɪᴀɴ Assɪsᴛᴀɴᴛ Pʀᴏɢʀᴀᴍ, had a big ᴍɪᴄʀᴏʙɪᴏʟᴏɢʏ ᴛᴇsᴛ the next day, Vanessa had let her husband sleep, taken her phone into the bathroom, and settled into the bathtub, being as quiet as possible – but soon she couldn’t be quiet anymore.
Soon her husband, Josiah, woke up and ʀᴜsʜᴇᴅ into the bathroom, along with the entire home birth team: Vanessa’s doula, Desiree, her ᴄᴇʀᴛɪꜰɪᴇᴅ ɴᴜʀsᴇ ᴍɪᴅᴡɪꜰᴇ, Nikki McIver-Brown, and her birth photographer, Mendez.
The mommy-to-be was moved from the floor of the bedroom, back to the bathroom, and finally to the ʙɪʀᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴘᴏᴏʟ once her body was ready.
Writing her birth story, Vanessa says, “I remember thinking I was going to rip the door ꜰʀᴀᴍᴇ ᴏꜰꜰ because I was ɢʀɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ so hard.”
Soon, the pool was ready, and Vanessa climbed in with her husband. A few ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs later, the strong and beautiful mother saw her baby’s ʜᴇᴀᴅ.
She writes, “And a few ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs later, I looked down, and there was the baby’s ʜᴇᴀᴅ… RIGHT THERE, not going back up into my body but just… sitting there. It sᴛᴜɴɢ, but I was so happy to see it,” she explains.
Soon, she ᴘᴜsʜᴇᴅ her baby ᴏᴜᴛ and, at her midwife’s ɪɴsᴛʀᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴘᴜʟʟᴇᴅ her baby ᴏᴜᴛ of her body.
The story generated many positive responses on Facebook, with one user, Linda Lopez, saying, “Wow this is ᴘʜᴇɴᴏᴍᴇɴᴀʟ and just ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ. It was so beautiful to see these amazing photos ofhumanity. I’m just sʜᴏᴏᴋ, I just kept sᴄʀᴏʟʟɪɴɢ ᴛᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ with so much love and amazement watching these moments being captured frame by frame. beautiful.”
