Incredible Photos Document Newborn Baby’s First Seconds After Birth

National   |   Sarah Zagorski   |   Jun 5, 2015   |   11:56AM   |   Washington, DC

In Missouri, photographer Cate DePrisco started capturing pictures of women giving birth two years ago and posting them on Instagram. This gave her the idea to start a new business where she posted pictures of each stage of a woman’s birth story and hashtagging “Instabirthstory”.

On DePrisco’s website, she says, “My mission with birth photography is to show the more positive, moving moments in welcoming a new baby into the world such as the way dad lovingly looks at mom, the laughs when mom stands up after her water breaks, the anxious family in the waiting room, and mom’s look of determination as she pushes one final time.”

DePrisco shared more about her photography and Instabirthstory with the Daily Mail. She said, “Instabirthstory came about just as I was using Instagram in the way it is intended to be used – to post photos of my life as it happens. The process is quite simple – I am on call for the two weeks before and two weeks after the due date. Then, as soon as I get the call, I go and start taking photos of the family to tell their story.”

She added, “And besides the stories, it turns out people like the caption as they like being able to relate with the mothers and follow what they’re going through. The photos go from the happy and excited “oh my gosh we’re having a baby today” moments. To the “OH MY GOSH – OWWWWW” to “WE HAD A BABY TODAY” – as well as everything in between.”

Here’s more:

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Cate says she hopes that her photos will not only provide happiness for the families in them, but that they will also help people see that giving birth isn’t just about painful contractions and epidurals.

‘I believe there is a lot of fear surrounding birth because people hear stories of pain and exhaustion, and of course, emergencies and loss,’ she said. ‘It’s true [that] it’s painful, it’s exhausting, and emergencies and loss are scary.’

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‘But there is also a lot of magic in event’, she concludes: ‘From my perspective, it’s also a beautiful process watching the parents and a medical team work together and supporting each other to bring a new human to his [or] her first breath.’

So far, she has shared live updates of four deliveries, including a C-section, births with and without epidurals, and a hospital birth that started at home, and she has included several more birth stories on her website.

The emotional series has earned Cate more than 5,000 followers on the Instagram account.

View her stunning photography below.

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