A mother revealed how she photographed her own labour to capture stunning images of her son’s first seconds of life.
Resting the camera on her stomach, Lauren Chenault, 25, a professional photographer, managed to keep clicking the shutter through the pain as she gave birth to son Kai in April 2017.
The powerful photographs document the newborn’s first breaths as he is held up by the doctors with the umbilical cord still attached.
Mrs Chenault, from Rockville, New York, said she came up with the idea because she wanted to show how ‘women really are superheroes’.
First breaths: Mother Lauren Chenault, 25, managed to keep clicking the shutter through the pain as she gave birth to son Kai in April 2017. She captured his first moments of life on camera
Ambitious: Lauren with her husband, daughter Kailah and one-year-old son Kai. The mother-of-two said she wanted to take the photographs to show how ‘women are superheroes’
She said: ‘This was so important to me, I think it portrays how women really are superheroes. I couldn’t believe I actually got the shot – I took about 30 images but only two were usable.
‘It was a total adrenaline rush when everything was happening, my mind was focusing on pushing but I had to remember to click the button.’
Mrs Chenault, who has 10 years’ experience as a photographer, originally hoped to document the birth of her daughter Kailah in 2015.
Perspective: The mother-of-two captured doctors as they delivered her son in April last year
But she conceded it was too difficult to try during her first labour as she did not know how she would be positioned, or what to expect.
When she discovered she was pregnant with her second child less than a year later, Mrs Chenault set the plans in motion to photograph the birth.
She enlisted the help of friends to hold her legs in a position that allowed her to rest the camera on her stomach and still have a view of the medics and the bright light of the birthing suite behind.
Poignant: The photographer, 25, later captured newborn Kai in the hospital
Bonding: Big sister Kailah with her newborn baby brother in the hospital in April last year
‘My family was amazed I was able to capture it, but my husband wasn’t surprised – when I put my mind to something, I make it happen,’ Mrs Chenault said.
The photographer, owner of You’re My Focus photography studio, released the images of social media to mark her son’s first birthday.
She added: ‘My son is probably going to kill me when he’s older, for plastering his fresh naked face all over the internet.
‘Having these photos will always hold a special place for it me – it speaks 10,000 times louder than words ever could.’
Dressing up: The mother-of-two also documented one of Kai’s first outfits in hospital