Nursing Photography: Capturing the Journey
Nurturing our young is the ultimate unifier in parenthood. Whether nursing was an easy road or one that was challenging, the moments we feed our children and watch them thrive are so precious.
Breast or chestfeeding has come a long way in the public eye, and nowadays, parents from all walks of life are working hard to create supported, safe and normal spaces for nursing in private or public. This includes everything from celebs nursing in Instagram photos and models breastfeeding on the covers of major magazines to incredible new laws protecting parents who want to feed in public spaces like airports and parks.
Perhaps the most telling thing about our media savvy culture for breastfeeding or chestfeeding now is the normalizing, documenting and sharing of this special bond via professional photography and social media.
Here are 7 reasons why parents want their breastfeeding journeys captured and shared -- as quoted by parents who I’ve photographed!
- I breastfed until 16 months, when I finally went back to work. I wanted to remember these last 16 months with my baby forever, she grew too quickly!
- I struggled with it for so long. We didn’t get in the groove until he was 3 months along! I wanted to celebrate the struggle and success, true motherhood.
- Is there anything more normal? I loved our special time together and knowing that we were in it together, forever.
- I breastfed twins! TWINS! This was absolutely worth documenting!
- I had a breast surgery due to a medical issue and worked with a lactation consultant before I gave birth because it was so important to me to be able to feed my beautiful baby boy.
- I had an emergency c-section, and all of that felt so scary. After he was born safe and sound, I wanted to give him what I thought would be the healthiest and happiest start.
- I felt so sexy and healthy and wonderful when as a brand new mother, I wanted those photos for myself, to remind myself of my superpower of growing and nourishing a human from my own body!
Post your photos and tag them with #normalizebreastfeeding and #bamboobies to show us your beautiful moments nurturing your babies!
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October 28, 2016 By Laura Vladimirova
Laura is a birth doula, childbirth educator, breastfeeding counselor and birth photographer. She lives in Brooklyn, NYC where she is surrounded by an inspiring community of birth professionals.