Birth photography is an incredibly intimate and powerful art form. To honor this work and the families who choose to document and share these vulnerable moments, the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers holds an annual photo contest.

On Wednesday, the IAPBP announced the winners of its 11th annual Birth Photography Image Competition, which celebrates excellence across four main categories: labor, delivery, postpartum and birth details. Subcategories for recognition include black and white, documentary, fine art, and hardship and loss.

“We are incredibly proud of the entrants of this year’s competition because in spite of all we endured in our community in recent years, this contest represents the resistance birth photographers have to overcome unforeseen challenges,” IAPBP director Liz Cook said in a press release.

“We are also thrilled to introduce a new, impactful and powerful subcategory titled ‘Hardship & Loss,’” she added. “We desire to honor the 1 in 4 birthing persons who experience miscarriage and/or loss and inviting images of these events into our celebration of birth photography is one way we can do this. We are proud to present to you a breathtaking body of work that shares life’s most powerful moments from 2021.”

Continue scrolling to see this some of this year’s winners and honorable mentions. You can visit the IAPBP website to see all the

Note: The following uncensored photos show people in the act of childbirth and include an image depicting loss.