An expectant mother was in the search for a birth photographer, to capture the arrival of her baby.
A Google search later, she engaged with a photographer to be with her in the delivery room.
What followed was unexpected.
The photographer shamed the mother for “opting in” for a caesarean section, implying it was the easy way out.
The mum responded:
“I didn’t ‘opt’ for anything, but alright. I had no idea birth photographers discriminated people for how they birth their babies but that’s good to know. Have a nice day.”
Choosing to remain anonymous, she shared the text chain in the Sanctimommy Facebook group, and it quickly went viral, with over 5,000 shares and almost 4,000 comments.
The photographer rudely responded, “A surgery isn’t birth, my dear. You aren’t giving birth. You are having a surgery to remove your baby from your abdomen. That is not birth no matter how you swing it and I for one don’t want to be there to take pictures of it.
“If you decide to give motherhood a go from the get and have an actual birth let me know and we can schedule your session. This motherhood job is hard. If I were you I’d think twice about starting such a job by cutting corners so early in the game.”
The expectant mother, and some commenters, were shocked, given the nature of the business, a birth photographer should expect a vaginal delivery as well as a c-section.
One user shared: “I’m just here for the pictures of squishy babies that weren’t actually ‘born’.”
Another wrote: “They didn’t cut any corners with my c-section, they cut my lower abdomen.”
More chime d in, with one writing: “So c-section babies don’t have birthdays then I guess, since they are never born?
“I could post pictures of my c section…. you know, just to show how easy getting your abdomen sliced open and your baby yanked out of you actually is…. not to mention recovery…Being a mommy means doing whatever necessary to bring your baby safely into the world even if that means being cut open…. it’s a sacrifice not all are brave enough to make or even understand.”
Birth photographer or not, a birth in any which way is a birth, hard, life changing, and beautiful. At the end of the day, bringing a baby into the world safely is the ultimate goal.