The impact of the corona pandemic has really reached deep into our hearts and homes. Pregnant moms and expecting families have had to adjust their expectations of what is an already stressful time in terms of adapting to a new little life.

OPEN POST

The next hour was the hardest for me, it felt like torture. It had gotten dark and we lit candles around the bath. I was trying all different positions, but struggled to find something bearable. I had worked so hard on breathing and relaxing, but when the contractions came it was so crushing, all I could do was ride it out and wait for it to be over.

OPEN POST

An emergency C-section is exactly what it says – an emergency measure. You will have to discuss any risk factors that you have for that happening with your gynaecologist. Common reasons are obstructed labour, failure of labour to progress, placenta praevia (development of the placenta in an abnormally low position near the cervix), foetal distress, gestational diabetes mellitus, and improper positioning of the foetus for delivery.

OPEN POST

Elisa started crowning and the pain was unreal. I had oame face to face with the greatest fear I have ever experienced, the feeling that I couldn’t do it, that it wasn’t in me to push through one more contraction, to get this baby girl out. I remember crying and saying to Heinrich, “Ek kan nie, ek kan nie.”

Together with the midwives, Heinrich started speaking truth and courage over me. I remember calling out “Jesus!” at one of the very last contractions before Elisa made her appearance and then feeling an incredible sense of relief and victory the moment she popped out, hearing her behind me.

OPEN POST

I am super excited to give you a little glimpse into a world that I love so much it sometimes hurt. It’s a world that are still a little bit foreign to some people, but I truly hope that with this different angle, the critics will be able to soak up the inspiring and wonderful thing that is Birth Photography.

OPEN POST

Why was I so desperate to have a natural birth?
Yes, it would have been a most empowering experience for me and yes my next one will be a VBAC, but was it really that important in the bigger scheme of things? At the end of it all we got what we set out to achieve – a human being that we could guide and mould and set free into the world for her to make her own impact. Maybe that trauma she and I both endured in getting her Earthside happened exactly how it was supposed to. That’s birth and even more so parenting – you set off on a course with big plans and that’s great, but there has to be flexibility and acceptance in changing course depending on whatever life (or your kid) throws at you.

OPEN POST