This photographer takes breath-taking pictures of home births! The photographer is eager to spread the word about the traditional method of childbirth. These private moments of a mother giving birth to babies at home beautifully illustrate the challenging process. The photographer claims that hospitals can be hostile environments if overburdened medical professionals are unable to directly care to patients in. Tina is adamant that domestic natural deliveries are more practical.
Below are the photographs featuring Shivani Sinha during the birth of her son, Arin. You can also see Lina Duncan, an American midwife, who is now living in Mumbai, making this her full-time profession. Lina helped set up an in-house pool for a water birth, assisting Shivani through her six hours of ʟᴀʙᴏʀ.
Tina says, “We tend to think birth is ʜᴏʀʀɪꜰɪᴄ, and we are ꜰᴇᴀʀꜰᴜʟ of the experience. Most of the birth stories we hear from people around us and those portrayed by the mainstream media tend to induce this ꜰᴇᴀʀ in us. But there is an alternative to that and I think it is one of the biggest secrets kept from women today.”
Tina remarks, “The idea is not to put down hospital birth because it can be a life saver and it is true that high-ʀɪsᴋ births have become less ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs thanks to access to medical care. However, many ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴠᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴs, such as ɪɴᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ of ʟᴀʙᴏʀ, ᴄ-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴs, and ɪɴsᴛʀᴜᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀɪᴇs, are performed far more frequently than is healthy, necessary, or safe for women and their babies. Many women I know who have given birth the first time in a hospital and the second time with a midwife say there is a world of difference in the quality of care and dignity between the two experiences.”
So what has been the response? As Tina explains, “After I posted this, I’ve had women writing to me asking if I know of any midwives in Bangalore or Calcutta, but I don’t. I think that’s a ᴛʀᴀɢᴇᴅʏ. Even if we want to do birth differently, we don’t know how and who will help. I hope women will not just make informed choices regarding their own births but will actively take part in redeeming contemporary birth culture in India – possibly by becoming doulas or midwives themselves.”
