Capture the first moments of a newborn baby’s birth and the skin-to-skin moments that make a mother’s heart endlessly happy

When I gave birth the first time…I didn’t get a chance to see or feel my cord. My oldest daughter came flying out into the world (just 15 minutes of pushing) and I was SO overwhelmed with joy and relief that I didn’t bother to look or ask to see it.

But when I started to photograph births, I found cords to be one of my favorite things to capture during a birth story. Each umbilical cord is completely unique (just like each baby), and I found myself fascinated with the differing hues, lengths, and coiling.

I’ve shared numerous collections of cords over the last several years, and I’m excited to share some new images with you.

A few things to note about umbilical cords:

• Cords change dramatically in the first minutes and hour of baby’s life! When your baby is just born, your cord will often be thick and deeply colored. If you were to put your finger on your cord, you would feel a pulse. Once your baby is born, the need for nutrition and oxygen is gone, and so the cord will stop pulsing and become white and flat. (You’ll see examples of plump cords and flat cords in this slideshow…and the reason for the difference is time!)

 

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