Birth photography and doula work complement each other well.
It can be understandable to wonder how one person can perform the tasks of a birth doula and birth photographer at the same time. This is a valid question and one that I asked myself when I first started looking into offering birth photography services in addition to birth doula services. Through the experiences that I’ve had, I have come to learn that they actually complement each other quite well, and let me tell you why.
As a birth doula, one of the main things I keep at the forefront of my mind is allowing the labor and birth process to unfold like it needs to and to not disrupt the laboring person’s flow. Due to my personality, it can be all too easy for me to be too proactive and think that I need to offer all of the laboring positions or all of the comfort techniques. However, birth photography gives me moments of pause during the pregnant person’s labor to step back and observe instead of jumping in and directing. During these moments of stepping back and capturing images of the laboring person’s story, I often see that they are managing labor beautifully and just need me there as a physical presence in that moment rather than an intervening director.
Birth photography can also offer new perspectives. While capturing images during labor, I can see that the laboring person may need support in a different way than I originally thought. While pausing to capture images, the laboring person may have the time to express that she does not think that she can keep going, and this tells me that she likely needs emotional support in that moment rather than physical support. Or, after looking at the images that I just captured, I can see the grimace of pain on the laboring person’s face, and I then know that they need physical support in that moment rather than emotional support.
Birth photography complements doula work well in that it offers moments of pause to step back and evaluate what is really needed in each moment. Each labor and birth story is unique to the laboring person and it is important to follow her lead during the birthing process. Birth photography can help to facilitate this while also giving the birthing person memories to look back on forever.