20 Stunningly Intimate Birth, Postpartum And Maternity Photos

Caroline Bologna
Updated

Birth photographers capture deeply emotional and personal moments for parents.

To celebrate this work, Birth Becomes Her, a birth photography blog and community, held a contest featuring real images focusing on aspects of early motherhood. The prompt invited photographers around the world to submit images they took in 2017 for the categories of labor, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding and maternity.

A panel of judges selected three winners in each category and an overall winner out of a pool of nearly 1,000 submissions. More than 20,000 Birth Becomes Her followers voted for the people’s choice award winners.

“We believe that these images are worth seeing and celebrating,”contest organizers wrote on the site, where they announced the winners on Feb. 13. “We believe that motherhood and the female body should not be censored.”

Here are 20 stunningly intimate photos of pregnancy, birth and postpartum experiences. To see all of the submissions, visit Birth Becomes Her.

(Note: Some of these photos might not be considered suitable for viewing in all situations.)

Overall Winner

&ldquo;Stunning Siblings First Encounter&rdquo; <br /><i>Lochristi, Belgium</i>
“Stunning Siblings First Encounter”
Lochristi, Belgium

Labor -- First Place

&ldquo;Nowhere and Everywhere&rdquo;&nbsp;<br /><i>Santa Monica and West Los Angeles,&nbsp;California</i>
“Nowhere and Everywhere” 
Santa Monica and West Los Angeles, California

Labor -- Second Place

&ldquo;Labor by Candlelight&rdquo;<br /><i>Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada</i>
“Labor by Candlelight”
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Labor -- Third Place

&ldquo;Before the Cut&rdquo;<br /><i>Kampala, Uganda</i>
“Before the Cut”
Kampala, Uganda

Labor -- People's Choice

&ldquo;Three Souls Labor As One"<br /><i>Spokane, Washington</i>
“Three Souls Labor As One"
Spokane, Washington

Birth -- First Place

&ldquo;Half Born and Already Reaching for Mama&rdquo;&nbsp;<br /><i>Brisbane, Australia</i>
“Half Born and Already Reaching for Mama” 
Brisbane, Australia

Birth -- Second Place

&nbsp;&ldquo;Fist Bump for Mom&rdquo;&nbsp;<br /><i>Columbus, Georgia</i>
 “Fist Bump for Mom” 
Columbus, Georgia

Birth -- Third Place

&ldquo;Caught in Between Worlds&rdquo;<br /><i>Ottawa, Ontario, Canada</i>
“Caught in Between Worlds”
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Birth -- People's Choice

&ldquo;Transition to Earth&rdquo;<br /><i>Ghent, Belgium</i>
“Transition to Earth”
Ghent, Belgium

Postpartum -- First Place

&ldquo;This is VBAC&rdquo;&nbsp;<br /><i>Green Bay,&nbsp;Wisconsin</i>
“This is VBAC” 
Green Bay, Wisconsin

Postpartum -- Second Place

&ldquo;Rebirth&rdquo;<br /><i>Melbourne, Australia&nbsp;</i>
“Rebirth”
Melbourne, Australia 

Postpartum -- Third Place

&ldquo;Postpartum Uncensored&rdquo;<br /><i>Austin, Texas</i>
“Postpartum Uncensored”
Austin, Texas

Postpartum -- People's Choice

&ldquo;Success&rdquo;<br /><i>Uruguay</i>
“Success”
Uruguay

Breastfeeding -- First Place

&ldquo;Within Reach&rdquo;&nbsp;<br /><i>Treasure Coast, Florida</i>
“Within Reach” 
Treasure Coast, Florida

Breastfeeding -- Second Place

&ldquo;Tranquility&rdquo;<br /><i>Green Bay, Wisconsin</i>
“Tranquility”
Green Bay, Wisconsin

Breastfeeding -- Third Place

&ldquo;Stir Fry&rdquo;<br /><i>Milwaukee, Wisconsin</i>
“Stir Fry”
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Breastfeeding -- People's Choice

&ldquo;A Hush Fell Over The Crowd&rdquo;<br /><i>Rochester, New York</i>
“A Hush Fell Over The Crowd”
Rochester, New York

Maternity -- First Place

&ldquo;This is what a Goddess Looks Like&rdquo;&nbsp;<br /><i>Greenville, South Carolina</i>
“This is what a Goddess Looks Like” 
Greenville, South Carolina

Maternity -- Second Place

&ldquo;Staying Afloat&rdquo;<br /><i>Orlando, Florida</i>
“Staying Afloat”
Orlando, Florida

Third Place -- Maternity

&ldquo;A Mother&rsquo;s Love&rdquo;<br /><i>San Antonio, Texas</i>
“A Mother’s Love”
San Antonio, Texas

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.