Photographer Documents Baby's Birth in Real Time

Photo taken from the InstaBirthStory Instagram account

So you’ve heard of parents hiring photographers to document labor. But have you heard of a photographer who uploads the photos to Instagram simultaneously in real time?

Imagine following along a couple’s journey into parenthood by seeing real time updates from delivery day, from the first few contractions to the first skin-to-skin contact of newborn and mom.

This is what American birth photographer Cate DePrisco does. She lets the couple's loved ones see how labor is going by posting real-time images via the Instagram account InstaBirthStory. Other followers will be able to see the photos as well.

It all started when DePrisco once photographed for a 54-hour labor.

“There was quite a bit of downtime, so I’d post a photo [on my personal Instagram] that I was proud of … and before I knew it, I was telling a story and people were following along,” she told Buzzfeed. People liked it so much that she asked if her next mom-to-be client would agree to share her birthing story in real time and she agreed.

She said her clients have been very generous in sharing their story to the Instagram followers of InstaBirthStory.

"For the clients who prefer to keep their birth private, I fully respect that and I won’t blog about it, either. However, I actually haven’t had anyone opt out of an #instabirthstory yet,” she said.

Here we laid out a few beautiful photos from #instabirth518 or the birth of little Maddex Calvin.

1. This mom had to have induced labor since she's considered “high risk”

2. Mom gets her vitals checked

3. The caption for this reads “Mom and Dad are trying to pass the time with #bananagrams. They think Mom's subconscious was talking when she pulled out these letters to make this word the first round.”

4. Mom and Dad hold hands during painful contractions

5. “The epidural is in, and not only is she relaxing but she's almost ready to start pushing (the baby toaster is on!) I may be disappearing very soon as the pace is about to pick up. It's almost baby time!”

6. “Dad couldn't hide the tears for too long. We have a boy! However, the rest of the story has to wait because the family isn't ready to show a photo of him or announce the name QUITE yet. But, you guys, he's perfect. Check back in a little bit.”

7. Finally, Baby boy little Maddex Calvin!

8.Their first unnoficial family photo

A few comments from this birthing story reads:

“Congrats to this lovely family! I just stumbled upon your page and this was my first time following a live birth as well - loved it! I don't know how you do it, but this is just a wonderful concept and you do it beautifully!” - @bookreg311

“It was perfect and a true treasure for the parents I'm sure.” - @trvlingtee

“Yes👆🏼 we loved it too! Thanks for sharing” - @lightbugstudio


Check out the full set of photos for #instabirth518 here. 


Sources:
May 30, 2015. "This Photographer Is Sharing Birth Stories In Real Time On Instagram". buzzfeed.com
May 1, 2015. "Birth Photographer Gives Real-Time Instagram Updates With #InstaBirthStory". huffingtonpost.com