This Mum’s ‘Epic’ Birth Photo Was Banned From Facebook

With her baby daughter about to turn one, Francie was reminiscing about the day her baby was born.  Having posted about her personal birth experience (a fast labour before her little girl arrived, without any assistance, in bed) Francie re-shared a photo of the magic moment to a private, 900-member Facebook group called NYC Birth. She captioned the photo: 'Today it's been one year since this happened. Where do I even begin? I am humbled. I am grateful. I am speechless. I am a badass. I am so glad my baby is one year old. And I just can't believe it.'

"It was an incredible, epic, transformative experience," the mom told POPSUGAR. "I wanted to scream from the rooftops. I was so moved by it that I had to share it."

Just one hour later, Facebook had removed the photo and blocked her access for violating their terms of use.  Francie, known as TheMilkinMama (she works teaching new mothers to hand express breast milk) said she understands many people are uncomfortable with things that are unfamiliar to them so she made a choice only to share the birth image with her private birth group, rather than on her public news feed.  While she doesn't feel it was done maliciously ("birth can be triggering for those whose experiences weren't positive or were downright traumatic." she points out), Francie hopes Facebook will consider changing the rules to allow women to share their birth experiences.

"Birth is an important experience in the life of a family, a baby, and a woman, and to honor it as the amazing process it is — no matter how it looks — could really empower so many." she says. "I believe in the power of women, and I believe we have a responsibility to lift each other up."

What do you think, if someone takes issue with a photo on Facebook, should it automatically be removed? Let us know on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.  Image credit: Leonardo Mayorga