Honolulu Home Birth Photographer | The Birth of River

 HOME BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHY + FILM | HONOLULU, HI

THE HOME BIRTH OF RIVER

There is a different feeling when you walk into someone's home in the middle of the night and you know that in one of those quiet, dark rooms a mother is laboring hard to bring her baby into the world.

The front door was unlocked and the house was quiet when I arrived. The tension within me was real: "had the baby already been born? had I missed it?"
As I made my way upstairs, I heard the tell tale noises of a pushing contraction. Relief. Baby wasn't here yet. But he was close!

There was barely any water in the birth tub as both wonderful midwives worked to fill it out so baby could be born in the water.

There was a beautiful sense of togetherness and calm. Barely 15 minutes after I had walked into the small bedroom, baby River made his way into the world. His head was still enveloped in his amniotic sac (bag of waters) as he made his way earthside. As his head was born, the sac erupted. An en caul birth - one of the rarest births one can witness. Mama pulled him from the water and if you look closely, you'll be able to see remnants of the membrane on baby's neck right under his little ear.

In the birth film - which is the shortest one I've ever done! - you can see a photographer taking pictures of the moment of birth... That's me! I propped my second camera on the bed and left it running when I saw how close baby was to being born. Since the room was very small and darkened, I felt it would be good to have a second point of view at the moment of birth.
Please enjoy this very short but moving birth film of River's speedy entrance into the world. The pictures below are also very moving because if mom's reaction, which incredibly matched baby's facial expression.

Aloha,
Sophia.