I remember getting into the shower just an hour or so after having delivered my first baby, still shivering and feeling both on a high and yet so totally exhausted at the same time that I couldn't even mange to hold the shower hose – until a nurse, who had helped the midwife at my delivery, came into the bathroom and helped me wash myself.
It was such a small incident in what was such a big day, and yet I still remember it now, seven years later, just how how her act made me feel so safe and so cared for.
And so many of us have been here, I think, which explains why this touching image and the message it had recently went viral on social media.
The below photo is from US birth photographer Katie Lacer who took a photo of a mum who had just given birth accepting help from her nurse. The photo was taken in a bathroom at a hospital in Indiana, and Lacer, who was documenting the mum’s birth experience, recently explained to
HuffPost it was the mother’s first trip to the bathroom after welcoming her child, and the nurse was offering her a cold pack to ease the pain.
“Her nurse didn’t hesitate to kneel in front of her to help her slip into her exceptionally flattering postpartum mesh panties and cold pack after helping her clean up a little bit,” Lacer said. “It was a quiet moment that I just happened to turn around and see. It wasn’t planned or expected. I was nearing the end of her birth story and it seemed fitting that I would include the moment as a solid end point.”
A couple of days later, Jill Krause, the mom of four behind the blog
Baby Rabies, shared the photo on Facebook with permission from Lacer. In her post, she thanked the nurses who cared for her after she gave birth.
Her post has been shared thousands and thousands of times, with mums all over the world telling their stories of amazing nurses and feeling cared for in what is maybe the most vulnerable and overwhelming time of your life.
Lacer said the reaction to her photo on Krause’s page is “absolutely incredible” and she felt “flattered” that Krause wanted to share the photo with her story.
“We both want to serve other women, other mothers, and the bottom line is that women helping women always works, always. All of these amazing women and partners that are talking about their postpartum care are opening up a door to share about a part of the birth experience that we often dismiss, and it’s time to acknowledge it.”
Although the post isn't a new one, it's such an important message that we felt it was important to share it again and continue this conversation.
