The birth photo that's different to all the others.

When it comes to the birth photos we usually see, they’re often connected by an thread of beauty and emotion. In recent times, as birth photography has become more and more mainstream, we’re able to glimpse an experience that once stayed between the four walls of a hospital room.

However, rarely do we get to glimpse the experience of a mother who is meeting her baby for the first time, but isn’t actually giving birth.

When Jessica Thomas of Under My Heart Birth Photography from Pennsylvania captured this photo, she said it quickly became one of “favourite photos”.

“Such an amazing moment, as you can see by this loving mother’s reaction to the birth of her baby! This has got to be one of my favourite photos I’ve ever taken. So beautiful, such emotion! This is why you hire a birth photographer. These are treasured moments – save them forever,” she wrote alongside the image on Facebook.

Thomas went on to add that the mother in the photo, Candyce, was part of a same-sex couple who had a beautiful birth plan. After all, both women couldn’t give birth, but that didn’t mean both couldn’t be involved the birth process as much as humanly possible.

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“Their plan was after baby was born she would receive baby and do initial skin-to-skin since the other mum carried for nine months,” she wrote. “Such a sweet and beautiful plan for their birth.”

Speaking to Mamamia about the images, Thomas said Amanda and Candyce “were both over the moon with him and so connected as a couple”.

And as you can glean from the images, it was a sweet and beautiful plan that encompasses all that is good in love. Because love is love is love.

You can see more of Jessica Thomas’ incredible photography at Under My Heart Birth Photography’s Facebook page, website or Instagram acocunt.