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Why THIS photo has floored new mums across Australia...

It's touched a nerve

June 11 2019

A raw and emotional photo of a mum who had just given birth, has struck a chord with women around the world.

The black and white portrait, captured by photographer Alex Michele and shared to her Facebook page, shows a new mum gripping the rails of her hospital bed just minutes after delivering her son.

The picture has won praise because it highlights the struggles of motherhood which can begin just seconds after a baby is born. 

 

 

Alex took the picture while all the nursing staff and family were gathered around the newborn but she noticed the mother was all alone in the bed.

"Baby had just been born and everyone was surrounding the miracle that happened before our eyes and naturally everyone was in awe of him," Michele captioned the image.

"But I was especially in awe of her. I saw you, mama. I saw the pain in your eyes and in your face and in your body."

"...We tend to forget our mamas when babies are around."

 

I remember standing in line at Publix to fill the medication that would help continue to remove the life within me. I questioned whether or not I should photograph this birth for about 30 seconds. I knew what I was going to do. Being decisive has its' advantages. I looked at [my fiancé] Nick and said, "I'm going home, grabbing my camera and heading back to the hospital. I can take these pills later." Naturally he was worried about my physical well-being and my mental health but I knew that if I didn't do this I would regret it for the rest of my life. Having this once in a lifetime opportunity to document and watch life unfold before me for my friend was something that I knew would never happen again. I just had to be there. I remember being in the room feeling blood dripping from my body, the signs of my own child's life going and knowing that in just a few short hours I would no longer be pregnant. I watched my friends' body bleed simultaneously in agony and pain, signs of life, the movement down the birth canal, as she waited to bring her baby into the world. A life leaving and a life beginning all in the same room at the same moment and I was transfixed. I wasn't as sad as much as I was painfully magnetized by the heaviness of God's love in that space. I turned soft music on and turned the TV off to ease the energy in the room to help my friend. And then I heard the song that always reminds me of my daughter, Clementine, called 'Light' by Sleeping at Last. Yes, light was what we needed. I remember that her birthing room was a sacred room. It was filled with gentle love and motivation and tough aggressive love and encouragement, mostly coming from women, "You've got this. You are strong." They chanted. And I stood wide-eyed, bleeding and breathing, not wanting to miss a moment. To be in a room filled with women empowering other women is truly a surreal experience that supersedes all the words I have. I'll just sum it up as 'RAD' for now. I trembled watching this birth story before me. My adrenaline was wrecked with excitement, preserving these memories into still frames for my friend, and in that moment I realized truly what gift my grief had turned into. >>
I remember standing in line at Publix to fill the medication that would help continue to remove the life within me. I questioned whether or not I should photograph this birth for about 30 seconds. I knew what I was going to do. Being decisive has its' advantages. I looked at [my fiancé] Nick and said, "I'm going home, grabbing my camera and heading back to the hospital. I can take these pills later." Naturally he was worried about my physical well-being and my mental health but I knew that if I didn't do this I would regret it for the rest of my life. Having this once in a lifetime opportunity to document and watch life unfold before me for my friend was something that I knew would never happen again. I just had to be there. I remember being in the room feeling blood dripping from my body, the signs of my own child's life going and knowing that in just a few short hours I would no longer be pregnant. I watched my friends' body bleed simultaneously in agony and pain, signs of life, the movement down the birth canal, as she waited to bring her baby into the world. A life leaving and a life beginning all in the same room at the same moment and I was transfixed. I wasn't as sad as much as I was painfully magnetized by the heaviness of God's love in that space. I turned soft music on and turned the TV off to ease the energy in the room to help my friend. And then I heard the song that always reminds me of my daughter, Clementine, called 'Light' by Sleeping at Last. Yes, light was what we needed. I remember that her birthing room was a sacred room. It was filled with gentle love and motivation and tough aggressive love and encouragement, mostly coming from women, "You've got this. You are strong." They chanted. And I stood wide-eyed, bleeding and breathing, not wanting to miss a moment. To be in a room filled with women empowering other women is truly a surreal experience that supersedes all the words I have. I'll just sum it up as 'RAD' for now. I trembled watching this birth story before me. My adrenaline was wrecked with excitement, preserving these memories into still frames for my friend, and in that moment I realized truly what gift my grief had turned into. >>

 

She added, "We ask how baby is, what does baby need, can we hold the baby, can we buy this for the baby but... what about mama?"

The photographer then took the chance to remind everyone that the new mum needs a lot of attention in the postpartum phase of her life, and that attention should go beyond medical care.

"Meals dropped off, someone to watch baby so they can shower, solid childcare for her other children, house cleaners to stop by and help out. Heating pads and coffee and comfy PJs. Maybe fast food. Or a friend to fold laundry. Maybe a new movie to watch or your Netflix login," she wrote.

The photo was posted three weeks ago and has been shared more than 173,000 times.

"This post is amazing and made me cry," a Facebook user commented. "After both my babies were born and my parents showed up, my mum had a huge gift bag for me of nursing shirts, lotion, perfume and many other personal things. She also hired a house cleaner for six weeks and brought us meals every night. My mama is amazing. I am so thankful and I learned from this. It's so important to care for new mamas too."

If you or someone you know needs support after the birth of a child, contact PANDA on 1300 726 306 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

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