The Birth of Malcolm {documentary birth coverage}

8 images is not enough to cover this so please see my blog for more of the birth, if you like.

1.

Wow! What a gift. Love the lighting and the candidness.

Wow. That is a great and intimate set. The B&W and lighting work great here.

I've never seen such a large entourage for a birth. I'm sure she will be thrilled with these images.

Just a couple of questions/comments from someone (male) who's never witnessed a birth.
1. What is she breathing? in 3?
2. What is going on in 4? It's a little odd because she looks like she's topless.
3. #21 on your blog is quite interesting. I'm guessing (hoping) that he is the father of the baby and not just some random guy looking for an anatomy lesson.

Thanks for sharing. Great documentary/photojourn​alistic style.

Thanks for the comments!

moeronn wrote in post #10774716
Wow. That is a great and intimate set. The B&W and lighting work great here.

I've never seen such a large entourage for a birth. I'm sure she will be thrilled with these images.

Just a couple of questions/comments from someone (male) who's never witnessed a birth.
1. What is she breathing? in 3?
2. What is going on in 4? It's a little odd because she looks like she's topless.
3. #21 on your blog is quite interesting. I'm guessing (hoping) that he is the father of the baby and not just some random guy looking for an anatomy lesson.

Thanks for sharing. Great documentary/photojourn​alistic style.

All good questions.

1. Nitrous Oxide (same as you might get at the dentist). They say it takes a tiny bit of the edge off of the contraction and it doesn't harm the baby at all.

2. Yup, according to my wife (a labour/delivery nurse), the urge to get naked at the end happens to almost every woman. So there is a good half-hour of coverage I can't show in public. #6 was a lucky grab as she covered everything necessary with her wrist.

3. That is dad

TheHoff wrote in post #10774857
Thanks for the comments!

All good questions.

1. Nitrous Oxide (same as you might get at the dentist). They say it takes a tiny bit of the edge off of the contraction and it doesn't harm the baby at all.

2. Yup, according to my wife (a labour/delivery nurse), the urge to get naked at the end happens to almost every woman. So there is a good half-hour of coverage I can't show in public. #6 was a lucky grab as she covered everything necessary with her wrist.

3. That is dad

Thanks for the information. Sounds like the Nitrous Oxide is similar to an epidural in pain relief.

Is the woman in 4 (with the short pony tail) the mother? It looks like a different person. Maybe it's the angle and time of the shot that makes it appear that way.

Epidural is the real deal -- a spinal tap with a drip of constant numbing. Nitrous is like an aspirin compared to morphine (the epidural). It takes a bit of the edge off and makes you think about something else for a split second whereas the epidural is really doing the work. The good thing about Nitrous is that it wears off in literally 15 or 20 seconds and doesn't affect the baby at all (every other method of chemical pain reduction does affect the baby's awareness and heartbeat).

You're right, #4 is the mom. The rimlight makes her look a bit different and she pulled her hair back. She is in an upright birthing position so that gravity assists (they have a bar to lean on that installs right over the bed).

I like #7 a lot, especially her expression which looks like a combination of pain and joy, which is exactly what she went through to give birth to her child!

No 7 is the best.

janeks wrote in post #10775666
No 7 is the best.

for sure. i got a little teary eyed on that one.

wow...nice capture...i'm waiting for my wife first labour day....hopefully they let me take the picture....congratulat​ion

beautiful photos!!

This was great! Never seen a set with birth photos before. Love the candids...makes me weary of when I have to give birth one day.

Lovely shots. I'm sure she's very glad she had you there. I have no photos of my labor. Was she at all annoyed by your presence? I think even if I hired someone to photograph the event, it might still get on my nerves (being that everything bothered me when I was in labor)

Beautiful photos! To the PP- I've shot four births myself. I don't believe any of the mother's had a stitch of clothes on the whole time! I mean, if *you* had to do that, would you want to be clothed? It's hard work!

I love #4 especially. I recognize that face.

Though, I have to say, this post has reassured my desire to never give birth in a hospital if I can avoid it. I'm actually feeling a little scared for that woman in a couple of these!

Thanks, everyone!

FELINEDEBOURGES wrote in post #10781637
Lovely shots. I'm sure she's very glad she had you there. I have no photos of my labor. Was she at all annoyed by your presence? I think even if I hired someone to photograph the event, it might still get on my nerves (being that everything bothered me when I was in labor)

She was super easy to work with. The mother is a local photographer as well; I was hired as a gift from her friends. She had no problem with me using these in my portfolio, or in a blog post, etc, so she was very accommodating and kept her clothes on as long as possible

With all of her friends and family in the room, I don't think I was very noticeable. I did have two flashes in opposite corners for fill (so I could use my 2.8 zoom) and she said she never noticed them firing. I think if it was just a husband, a nurse, and the mother, I would probably be more self-concious about being there and shooting; I like when the room is crowded.

Now watch it, this is my wife's ward Seriously though, what about a hospital birth makes you frightened? I'm more scared of people doing home births -- what if the cord is wrapped and they don't have a good monitor? What if the baby is a foot breach? Can the midwife turn them? I know one nurse on the ward who is going to do it at home in about 4 months (and I'm going to be there, too!) but I know she will get to the hospital ASAP if something is wrong. I appreciate the idea of birthing at home but it just seems you're that much further from real medical intervention if it is needed. Some women certainly seem better designed to give birth at home and the kid slides right out but some are not so lucky.