Beautiful. Powerful. Peaceful.
This image of a water birth is challenging what people think they know about babies arriving into the world.
It was taken in Perth in 2015 by Angela Gallo, a doula and birth photographer. The woman in the picture is Gallo’s good friend Tiarna, who was giving birth to her second child.
“This was actually the first water birth ever at the new Fiona Stanley Hospital, so it was pretty special,” Gallo remembers.
“It was a beautiful water birth. She just looked like an angel the entire time. No noise at all. She literally just breathed baby out. It was very, very, very beautiful.”
It’s a view of childbirth that is very different from what is commonly seen in the media.
“In movies, it’s terrifying and loud and dramatic, and the woman always seems to be in this agonising amount of pain,” Gallo says.
“The reality is there are a lot of women experiencing pleasurable, excited, joyful births, but they’re holding back their stories because they almost feel bad. There’s this strange guilt, like, ‘Oh, I had a really good birth but everyone else had a really bad birth.’
Listen: Angela Gallo shares the birth photos women most commonly request. (Post continues.)
“I’ve had mums laugh out their babies, or smile out their babies.”
Gallo, who is now based in Victoria, says not every water birth, or every home birth, is going to be special. But she says what’s wonderful about water births is that they create a “cocoon” around the birthing woman.
“In a traditional hospital bed there’s a lot of noise, there’s a lot of prodding, whereas in a water birth situation, it’s a lovely protective cocoon," she says.
"The mother can kind of just melt into this beautiful supportive abyss, and just be her, her baby, her body and the water.
“There’s a kind of really romantic element to it. This woman, she just looked really ethereal the entire time. She had her eyes closed and she was just oozing this delicate, radiant energy.”
Gallo says water birth appears to be becoming more popular.
“Now, especially, with celebrities doing it and it being shared on social media, it’s being spoken about more. With competent professionals, it’s a very safe alternative. It’s amazing pain relief. It’s a very gentle way for baby to be born.”
The photo of Tiarna scored Gallo an honourable mention in the awards run by the International Association of Birth Photographers. From there, it’s gone on to have a huge impact.
“It really shines a light on the fact that birth really does have the potential to be something transformative and magical,” she adds.
“But it really does depend on where you are and who you’re with.
“It’s really nice that Tiarna and some of my other birth clients are allowing me to share their stories and give women another perception of birth.”
You can find more of Angela Gallo's work on her website, or on Instagram @angelawombwarrior
Top Comments
Those photos are likely to be deeply embarrassing for that child when they are older.
I'm sorry I don't get the outrage here in the comments? The story is just showing how birth CAN be, not how it HAS to be! I would have loved one or all of my birth experiences to have been like that but they weren't...so what...my kids were born healthy. That's all that mattered to me.
It's not outrage, it's criticism. Frankly, I don't give two hoots about this woman's birth photographs (though I do hope for her friends' sake that she has kept them to herself). Not everyone wants their friends to share.