Many women feel extremely vulnerable right after giving birth — and understandably so. After all, bringing a new life into the world is exciting, exhausting, and extremely emotional. So maybe the reason why this post-pregnancy photo is going viral is because it captures that very emotion so well.
Jill Krause, the blogger behind website Baby Rabies, took to Facebook to share a touching post-delivery photo from her photographer friend Katie Lacer with a heartwarming message to boot.
“I’ll never forget the faces of the nurses who followed me into the bathroom after delivering each baby,” Krause wrote in the caption. “That moment when I was so vulnerable, so tired, scared, shaky. My swollen belly deflating, and my modesty long gone. They treated me with such kindness and dignity.”
As the saying goes, a photo says a thousand words. And Lacer’s image does just that (no wonder it’s been shared more than 67,000 times).
Krause continued in the caption, “For me, these have been moments of empowerment and confirmation that I have a real village to help me, even if just for that little bit of time in a bathroom, on a toilet, while a kind nurse shows me how to put an ice pad on my mesh undies. This photo by my friend MommaKT Shoots just takes me right back. Like, I can smell the Dermaplast. Let’s hear it for the nurses and the doulas and anyone else who shows us how to make ice pad underwear (or helps with that first shower post c-section!)”
As for Lacer, who first started taking birth photos in 2011, says she tries to meet with her clients before their due dates so she can establish a relationship with them.
“Every birth is different, and it’s important that I can cater to a wide range of personalities,” Lacer said.
Well, judging by some of Lacer’s other recent photos, we’d say her hard work has totally paid off.
This story originally appeared on Woman’s World
