Photographer Captures Powerful Images of His Girlfriend’s Labour

Giving birth is usually a private moment shared between only you and your partner but photographer Gustavo Gomes decided to break the boundary of what's acceptable during labour and photograph his girlfriend during the agonising time - all for a brilliant cause.

Photographer Gustavo Gomes and his girlfriend Priscila Bochi both decided to share this intimate moment as a way of demystifying natural childbirth and encouraging more women to go for a natural birth.

Gustavo says: "Besides being our personal story, we hope these photos can raise awareness about natural and home childbirth in Brazil. Our country (Brazil) has the highest caesarean rates in the World, around 50% of births in the public health system and shockingly 87% in the private system. Most of them with no medical reasons, just because C-sections can be scheduled and are quicker for the doctors to operate."

After finding out these facts, the couple decided to ditch the hospital and go for a natural home birth. And with the help of a doula, an obstetrician and a pediatrician, Priscila gave birth to a healthy baby girl with Gustavo by her side.

The stunning images capture the stages of childbirth, and are not just keepsakes but a great social message. A message that calls mothers to avoid unnecessary c-sections and go the natural route. And although the moments are intense, Gustavo manages to capture the emotions in a beautiful and totally honest way.

And for those of you wondering how Gustavo managed to play the photographer and the daddy role, he reassures us that juggled both roles just fine: "Photographing the labour didn't stop me from helping Priscila and being involved in the process. That's the reason why I don't have any photo of Violeta coming out, I was there to be the first to hold her when she came to light."

What a beauty!