Photographer Shares Stunning Real-Time Birth Pics On Instagram For The World To See

Some women would cringe at the thought of letting their own loved ones witness them giving birth – let alone a total stranger.

But hiring a birth photographer to capture a woman welcoming her baby into the world is more common than you might think. And Cate DePrisco has made a career out of it.

But the Kansas City-based birth photographer delivers stunning snapshots with a twist – she uploads them to her @InstaBirthStory Instagram account while her client’s in labour, to update loved ones with real-time snapshots of how everything’s progressing.

DePrisco shares pics of everything from a baby’s first breath to the quiet downtime that happens before the final stages of labour – all with the consent of her clients, naturally. So far the Insta account has almost 7,000 followers and boasts 173 intimate pictures of couples building their families.

The Instagram project all started accidentally, during a 54-hour labour that DePrisco was photographing.

“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,” DePrisco tells Buzzfeed. The response was so positive that she asked the next mum-to-be she was working with if she would like to share her birth story live on the social networking site.

The client agreed and voila - @InstaBirthStory had the go ahead.

Hiring a birth photographer has been a trend in the US for a while, and in recent years it has taken off here on UK soil, too.

If you fancy commissioning professional pics of your baby’s birth, then you may need to get the ball rolling quickly – birth photographers tend to get booked up quickly and you’ll need to get things sorted a couple of months before your due date. It’s pretty expensive, too.

The expert snapshots can cost anything from £100 to £1000, depending on how experienced the photographer is.

But it’s a beautiful way to look back on your child’s arrival. Often with all of the drama (and pain) that can come with childbirth, you forget to treasure the special moments – which a photographer will capture for you to look back on time and time again.

Would you consider using a birth photographer? Or did you book one? Let us know in the comments.

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