Welcoming Tasi… Brisbane Birth Photographer

Welcoming Tasi…  {Brisbane Birth Photographer}

As a Brisbane birth photographer, it is not often that one gets to act as both support person and photographer during a birth. But when little Tasi entered the world on 27 September 2014, I got to experience this first hand.

Usually at the births that I attend, I respect the birthing space that the labouring mumma has created and go to great lengths to remain in the background, taking a very “stealthy” approach. I try to capture and document the emotion, and feel it myself, but don’t “participate” in what is one of the most sacred and precious moment that a family will ever experience together. However, little Tasi’s birth was different. Tasi’s mum is my sister-in-law, who is from Samoa and who doesn’t have a lot of family here in Australia. She invited me into her birthing space, along side of her mum, and her aunty, and as Tasi entered the world at the RBH Birth Centre, he was surrounded by so much love and feminine energy!

It was lovely to be more hands on than usual, and it really gave me some great insight into the support that midwives and doulas provide during the birth process. Knowing that I have given birth 5 times myself, in facilities much different to the traditional hospitals her mum and aunty had birthed their own children in back in the 70s, Audrey looked to me for support too.

I think we made a great team, and I must say that I am the best ice getterer ever! I was always making sure that she always had a fresh cube to suck on between back rubs, motivational pep talks, and actually taking photos too! Of course, as I was the photographer, I am not in any of the photos myself, so lets just call me the “ghost doula”. 😉

Here is a selection of my favourite images as Audrey prepared to welcome the little man earthside who would make her a mummy for the very first time.

Tan.x