A New Father Took Beautiful Pictures Of His Girlfriend Giving Birth
Photographer Gustavo Gomes said that he hopes his daughter will be able to experience “a bit of the great adventure it was receiving her”.
When Brazilian photographer Gustavo Gomes' girlfriend, Priscila Bochi, gave birth at home to their daughter, Violeta, he decided to capture every tense and intimate moment.
"I've been photographing whatever happens in my life since I started photographing," Gomes told BuzzFeed, "so recording the time from when we learned about the pregnancy until the day Violeta was born was only natural for me."
According to Gomes, Bochi was completely comfortable with the process so long as he still supported her during the labour.
Gustavo Gomes / Via gustavominas.com
"Priscila is very used to my photographing her, and she was aware beforehand that I would record this moment as well," he said.
"I'm always photographing our daily life, so it wasn't something deliberate. Now and then I'd ask her to pose with the specific purpose of having some traditional pregnancy photos, but these ones mostly came out a bit cheesy and too romantic."
Gustavo Gomes / Via gustavominas.com
Gomes said he and his girlfriend decided on a home birth after seeing the "touching movie about childbirth" O Renascimento do Parto.
"There are actually more pros than cons in a home birth," he said. "Many people might think it can be dangerous, but it's not, if it's been a healthy and regular pregnancy. It's a long and tiresome process, so it helps a lot spending all these hours in an intimate place.
"And sure, sleeping with Violeta by our side on her very first night was priceless."
Gustavo Gomes / Via gustavominas.com
The couple hopes the photos will raise awareness of how positive a home birth can be in Brazil, where births by caesarean section are common.
"Our country has notoriously high caesarean rates – around 50% of births in the public health system, and, shockingly, 87% in the private system, most of them with no medical reasons, just because C-sections can be scheduled and are quicker for the doctors to operate," he said.
Instead they chose to deliver their daughter at home with the assistance of a doula (a person who provides non-medical physical and emotional support to the mother during birth) to massage and support Bochi through the labour, as well as an obstetrician and a paediatrician to safely manage the birth.
Gustavo Gomes / Via gustavominas.com
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