newborn

Since April is International Caesarean Awareness Month, I thought it was quite timely to share with you this portrait I’ve created recently of a mother with her newborn baby.

This image won the Judges award for March with the SWPP monthly competition so it came top out of 900 plus images entered, I was totally blown away!

This striking black and white portrait is part of a new collection of images that I’m creating as part of a personal project.

Another one in this new series is the black and white breastfeeding image that won me the title of ‘Newborn Photographer of the Year 2021’ with the Societies of Photographers just last month.

Postnatal pregnancy photography

In all my newborn sessions, I encourage parents – both together and individually – to be photographed with their new babies. I believe that these are important photos to capture and that they help to tell the story of your growing family.

As each family is unique, we discuss during the session what type of family portraits with your newborn you’d like.

Sometimes if there is a willing daddy, his shirt may come off and we create some lovely artistic portraits like this to emphasise the size difference between the dad and the baby. This is also lovely skin-to-skin time which is beneficial for the little one too.

Other times, breastfeeding mummies are happy to be photographed mid-feed, and this is how the award-winning breastfeeding portrait first came about.

One the day I took this caesarean portrait, this particular new mummy was happy to share the story of her caesarean birth with me and even felt comfortable enough to have her caesarean scar photographed.

It was brilliant to be able to capture this for her – I feel that it’s beautifully raw and I’m thrilled with the final result!

Celebrating caesarean births

When I shared this caesarean portrait online for the first time recently, I got an incredible reaction. Here are just some of the comments I received:

“Oh my gosh, I would have loved to have had a piccie like that…it truly captures the sacrifice us Mummies make to give life. This is incredible Karen! 😍”

“How beautiful is this photo, showing the transition to motherhood, holding this little being above our caesarean scar! There is such rawness and realness in this photo, like motherhood, a time of such big feelings and changes.” – Dr Rebbeca Moore 

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. 

Your Caesarean Stories

Since the caesarean scar portrait sparked a lot of interest, I decided to ask a few former clients and my followers to share their own experiences of caesarean birth, and to share tips for new mums who are about to experience one for themselves.

Keep reading for their stories and tips. I hope you find them useful.

Mum 1 who has experienced four caesarean sections

“So my first c-section was an emergency after 30 hours of labour and then Finlay got his head stuck at 9cm dilated and we were whipped into theatre pretty fast! He was born weighing 9lb 5oz and after previously breaking my pelvis in a car accident it turned out I couldn’t dilate properly. I lost a lot of blood, I had a 4-unit blood transfusion and continued to bleed heavily for 20 weeks after my section. I had to take some serious iron supplements and suffered terribly with post-natal depression after his birth. I apparently nearly bled to death, it was very touch-and-go and I was in intensive care for 24 hours.

It took me 4 years to have the next baby, and that was a planned section at Dorchester Hospital. It wasn’t without complications, but the experience was far more positive than the first. Knowing your dates and times goes a long way to helping with the anxiety. With a planned section you’re also not tired from hours of labour and you eat properly in the run-up to it. I made sure I had kept up my fluid intake and taken pregnancy multi vitamins and iron in preparation for his birth. He was born at 36 weeks, I suffered enormously with low blood pressure and passed out a couple of times on the poor midwife helping me shower, but I went home quickly and recovered a lot better.

My 3rd and 4th sections were more fraught because although they were planned, I went into natural labour at 32 weeks (baby 3) and 28 weeks (baby 4) and had to have steroids and stay in bed right up until they were born at 38 weeks via section. The actual births were lovely, you walk down to the theatre, the radio is playing in the theatre, all the staff are calm and organised and it feels very relaxed.

The thing I was most shocked about is you do still bleed after birth even though they’ve cleared everything out. I totally recommend buying big cotton pants the next size up to accommodate your weird jelly belly and stomach dressings plus a maternity pad! Or even disposable knickers, but I found them way too uncomfortable. Be prepared to rest up way more than you want to after birth. After my hysterectomy, I wasn’t even allowed to lift a kettle for 8 weeks post-surgery, yet after a section, they don’t bat an eyelid about you lifting a baby up and carrying a car seat! Giving yourself time to heal is key to a healthy mind. Accept all the help people offer, it really is a short period of time and people want to help.”

Top tips for post caesarean section

Another mum has kindly shared her tips on how to cope after a C-section. In her own words…

• “Take it easy, listen to your body, and get as much rest as possible but keep moving! It sounds contradictory, but getting up from the sofa or wherever you are resting for a little walk to the kitchen or bathroom every hour or so will help with mobility in the first few days after surgery and whilst healing. It will also reduce the risk of blood clots post-surgery.

   

• Stand up as straight as possible from the get-go to avoid back problems and to help mobility as the scar heals.

   

• Get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th pair of hospital-grade compression stockings. As soon as you get fitted for those beauts in hospital get your OH on to amazon and order a few more pairs in the right size. You’ll be wearing them for 2 weeks + so you’ll need at least one on one in the wash.

   

• Use a pillow to hold tightly across your scar for when you need to cough, sneeze or god forbid someone has the audacity to make you laugh!

   

• Invest in huge black pants!!

   

• Drink peppermint tea for the post-surgery wind!
  
  
• Use a scar massage tool – check with your midwife/consultant as to when you can start using it post-surgery. Helps to soften the scar tissue and deeper adhesions.

   

• If you can afford it and feel comfortable with people touching your scar find a good postnatal/womens physio who offers scar massage – it really will help so much with the healing and avoid long-term complications with scar tissue/adhesions! Wish they would tell you more about this in the hospital!”

Caesarean awareness 

She continues:

“I think that sometimes we can be our own worst enemies in the way that we criticise ourselves but like you say there is also that narrative out there about c-sections being the easy way out and that you haven’t really given birth. I was very lucky that I had such supportive friends and family around me who would try and lift my spirits when I was really struggling with the upset of the failed VBAC. But being given that little bit of control and the feeling like my body helped to birth my baby through the natural c-section allowed me to truly let go of all of, and to accept, what turned out to be my journey to motherhood.

In all honesty, I wouldn’t have the beautiful family that I have been blessed with if it wasn’t for the amazing teams that carry out c-sections and I’m so pleased that this can now be my takeaway from my births rather than this horrible sadness and disappointment in myself.”

Your baby, your story

I think I’ll end by saying a huge thanks to the mums who have contributed to this blog and share these brilliant words from Dr Rebbeca Moore:

“So often we are told the narrative that vaginal birth is the only birth, but of course, it’s not. Your birth story is yours. All birth stores need to be heard and seen. Birth like everything else in life is often messy, imperfect, and wonderful all mixed together. Caesareans can be intensely healing, slow and gentle, or perhaps more dramatic and rushed. Sometimes under a general anesthetic. But whatever the shape and form they are yours. Your story, and your baby. Your beginning.”

What is your experience of a caesarean birth?

If you feel like sharing your own story, please do in the comments below.

Karen