Earlier in the month of March, a birth photographer Vanessa Mendez documented the home birth of baby Indigo June with mother Vanessa DeCosta and shared the real, raw and inspiring images on Facebook. The images soon went viral all over the world with more than 376,000 shares, because they highlighted the beauty of birth and the incredible strength mothers possess.
On the morning of March 11, Mendez got a call from her client Vanessa saying that she was in ʟᴀʙᴏʀ with her second child.
Knowing that her husband, who is in the US Aʀᴍʏ’s Pʜʏsɪᴄɪᴀɴ Assɪstᴀɴt Pʀᴏɢʀᴀᴍ, had a big ᴍɪᴄʀᴏʙɪᴏʟᴏɢʏ tᴇst the next day, Vanessa had let her husband sleep, taken her phone into the bathroom, and settled into the bathtub, being as quiet as possible – but soon she couldn’t be quiet anymore.
Soon her husband, Josiah, woke up and ʀᴜsʜᴇᴅ into the bathroom, along with the entire home birth team: Vanessa’s doula, Desiree, her ᴄᴇʀtɪꜰɪᴇᴅ ɴᴜʀsᴇ ᴍɪᴅᴡɪꜰᴇ, Nikki McIver-Brown, and her birth photographer, Mendez.
The mommy-to-be was moved from the floor of the bedroom, back to the bathroom, and finally to the ʙɪʀtʜɪɴɢ ᴘᴏᴏʟ once her body was ready.
Writing her birth story, Vanessa says, “I remember thinking I was going to rip the door ꜰʀᴀᴍᴇ ᴏꜰꜰ because I was ɢʀɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ so hard.”
Soon, the pool was ready, and Vanessa climbed in with her husband. A few ᴄᴏɴtʀᴀᴄtɪᴏɴs later, the strong and beautiful mother saw her baby’s ʜᴇᴀᴅ.
She writes, “And a few ᴄᴏɴtʀᴀᴄtɪᴏɴs later, I looked down, and there was the baby’s ʜᴇᴀᴅ… RIGHT THERE, not going back up into my body but just… sitting there. It stᴜɴɢ, but I was so happy to see it,” she explains.
Soon, she ᴘᴜsʜᴇᴅ her baby ᴏᴜt and, at her midwife’s ɪɴstʀᴜᴄtɪᴏɴ, ᴘᴜʟʟᴇᴅ her baby ᴏᴜt of her body.
The story generated many positive responses on Facebook, with one user, Linda Lopez, saying, “Wow this is ᴘʜᴇɴᴏᴍᴇɴᴀʟ and just ʙʀᴇᴀtʜtᴀᴋɪɴɢ. It was so beautiful to see these amazing photos ofhumanity. I’m just sʜᴏᴏᴋ, I just kept sᴄʀᴏʟʟɪɴɢ tᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ with so much love and amazement watching these moments being captured frame by frame. beautiful.”
