Photographic Evidence That Big Siblings Can Thrive in the Delivery Room
If you’re expecting baby no. 2 (or three or four), you may have conflicting emotions about letting your older children be present for the birth. Will witnessing labor transfix or traumatize them? Is privacy something you prefer? While the decision is uniquely personal, one birth photographer is validating the practice of letting kids into the delivery room.
“Often, clients ask me my thoughts on having children present at a birth. My answer is usually, ‘Yes’,” Nicole Lahey, the photographer and doula behind Ready Set Chaos Birth Services, writes on Facebook. Luckily, Lahey recently worked with an all-star big sister to help explain why her decision is usually affirmative.
“Hunter’s parents prepared her so well for this experience,” she says. “They discussed anatomy in proper terms. She knew the word ‘placenta,’ and she wasn’t afraid of the blood she saw. She didn’t cower when her mother roared her brother out and she didn’t get nervous or concerned about it, at all. She asked questions, she played with her babies, she ate snacks, and she kept us all entertained with her adorableness. She held her brother’s head as he crowned, she cheered her mom on as she pushed him out, she rubbed her mother’s hair so gently; as they both gazed lovingly at this new tiny life in front of them.”
The inquisitive little Hunter even asked about the purpose of skin-to-skin contact—which she loved every minute of.
“She was in heaven and didn’t want to give him back to his mom,” Lahey says. “She held him with the biggest smile as he bobbed his head around, looking for a breast. She giggled as we told her he wanted to nurse.”
While this is all adorable, Lahey drives home that it’s more than just a cute story. It’s a reminder to normalize the birthing experience.
“Birth is the most normal part of life; share it with your children and teach them from the beginning that birth is nothing to fear,” Lahey says. “Birth is strength.”
Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.
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