This photo of a candid mother and her baby who was born by caesarean section has caused quite an uproar on the internet. Recently, photographer Helen Aller, from Guernsey, UK, took this intimate photo of a mother and her three-day-old baby boy next to her caesarean incision.
Pregnancy and birth happen as they do, yet many women are openly judged if a “not natural” option is chosen.
This anonymous mother had decided on a vaginal birth, but was forced to have an emergency caesarean due to complications. The mother asked Helen Aller to capture the days after she underwent a c-section procedure, she wanted a picture taken of the operation that ended up saving her and her baby’s life.
After Helen shared the image on Facebook, it instantly struck a chord around the world and has been seen 11.5 million times and liked by nearly 200,000 and shared over 56,000 times.
Since the post went up, many mothers who have undergone c-sections have reached out to Helen and said how inspiring the photo is to them. According to Helen, “I have received so many stories from c-section moms saying how it has changed the way they look at their scars, I can’t believe the amount of women that are ashamed of their scars and made to feel like they haven’t done the job properly because they didn’t give birth naturally”.
While Helen received lots of positive feedback for the picture, she says some have reported it to Facebook and borders on being pornography.
“It’s wonderful to read all the amazing stories people have posted because of it,” Helen writes. “But it has left me wondering how on earth Renaissance painters got away with painting nudes all those centuries ago when this image is causing so much controversy in this day and age!”
Some commenters questioned why the photographer didn’t cover up the mom’s vagina and believes the image is a bit too revealing.
One even went so far as to say that Helen’s photo is “practically soft porn,” and that a photo of a naked woman and her baby “is not art.”
Yet despite the backlash, Helen says she is proud of her work and knows that the image has helped provoke thoughtful discussions about how every mom should be proud of their labor battle scars, no matter how they fought for them—and that’s a message we can all get behind.
“To me, it’s a beautiful image that shows both a struggle and something beautiful,” Helen says. “I feel proud that an image I created has allowed so many people to open up about their experiences and change the way they feel about something they should only feel pride for.”
As an African, what do you think about this image, is it too revealing and should be condemned or should it be celebrated as success of going through caesarean operations as a way of birth? Should we appreciate the art by the photograpgher? We would love to hear your thoughts, share them with us in the comment boxes below.
Source: DailyMail, IrishMirror
