Badass mom delivers her own baby during C-section in incredible photos

Some moms who give birth by C-section, whether through necessity or choice, feel that they’re missing out on the intimate, breathtakingly physical aspect of a vaginal birth. But Australian mom Sarah Downs was determined to make her C-section personal, so she was hands-on when it came to the delivery of her daughter Tenasi. 

With the help of her doctor, Downs lifted her daughter out of her womb and pulled her straight onto her chest, and the process was beautifully captured by birth photographer Rana Rankin. 

“Why wouldn’t you want to be the one that pulls the baby from your womb?” said Downs. “Being able to deliver your own baby and be the first person to hold her was incredible. A couple of pushes on the stomach and the head was out, and that was all done by the obstetrician. Then I pulled her up to my chest. I was so excited to meet her. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. Oh my goodness, it’s hard to describe the moment I held her in my hands. I just had this whole rush of emotions going through me. I started crying tears of joy.”

“This is the second maternal-assisted C-section birth I have photographed,” Rankin told SheKnows. “They are becoming more popular, but there is still a lot of resistance from some obstetricians.”

There’s also still a lot of judgment around when it comes to cesarean births. But these stunning images remind us that childbirth is amazing and beautiful, however the baby enters the world.