The 2020 Best Birth Photo competition winners show the bravery of birthing mums
Content note: This story contains graphic images of childbirth and discussion of miscarriage.
It’s fair to say that 2020 was one of the most challenging years on record. This was doubly – possibly triply – so for expectant mums. Birth plans swiftly changed, depending on where mums had planned to give birth. Some mums were able to welcome their babies in the way they had hoped. Others were confined by COVID-19 regulations, their birth panning out very differently to what they might have hoped for.
And the winners are …
The Birth Becomes You 2020 Image Celebration celebrated these births, no matter how they were realised. COVID-19 did mean some changes to how the competition was run. Instead of solely judging the work of professional birth photographers, in 2020, the competition invited the entire Birth Becomes You online community to enter photos via a dedicated Facebook group.
The results, we’re sure you will agree, are astounding.
Scroll on to see the photos that were voted the best by the Birth Becomes You community from those hundreds of entries.
“Exhale” by Alexandria Mooney Photography in St. Louis, Missouri (above)
“Reach Down” by Dana Jacobs of Dana Jacobs Photography in St. Louis, Missouri (above)
“A Traditional Cord Burning Ceremony: Honoring Her Ancestors” by Nicole Hamic in Phoenix, Arizona (above)
“Peace be Still” by Kathryn J Birth Stories in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (above)
“Miscarriage at 9 Weeks” by Jessica Vink of Vi Photography in the Netherlands (above)
“Mummy is Waiting For You” by Ania Wibig in Poland (above)
“Examining Every Detail” by Lisa Phillips in northern Virginia (above)
“Feel the Cord” by Dana Jacobs of Dana Jacobs Photography in St. Louis, Missouri (above)
“Surrounded by Love” by Melissa Helmick of The Photographic Storyteller in Virginia (above)
“Relief” by Alexandria Mooney of Alexandria Mooney Photography in St. Louis, Missouri (above)
“Daddy’s Girls” by Ashley Marston Birth Photography in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (above)
“Serenity” by Colby Tulachanh (above)
“The Celebration” by Candice Tizzard of Stages Doula and Photography in Vancouver, BC (above)
“Enveloped” by Danny Merz Mensch of Geburts Reportage in Hamburg, Germany (above)
“Sacred Postpartum” by Hanna Hill-Destigter of Hanna Hill Photography in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (above)
“Crossing the Threshold” by Gina Dolski of Gather Birth Cooperative in Minneapolis, Minnesota (above)
“Releasing the Sacred Tie” by Diana Hinek of Art Shaped Photography in Los Angeles, California (above)
“The Prayer” by Elaine Baca of Lane B Photography in Dallas, Texas (above)
“In Her Arms” by Isabell Steinert of Isabell Steinert Fotografie in Freiburg, Germany (above)
“Harmony in Birth” by Ania Wibig in Poland (above)
“En Caul Between Two Worlds” by Janice Lim Hing in Ladner, BC (above)
“Born During a Pandemic” by Brianna Waltman of Breezy Photography in Corinna, Maine (above)
“Exhilarating” by Nicole Gaines Photography in Utah, USA (above)
“The Calm Before the Final Surge” by Lisa Phillips in northern Virginia (above)
“The First of Firsts” by Michelle Glenn Photography in Auburn, Indiana (above)
“B R E A T H E” by Erin Heuser Photo in Jacksonville, Florida (above)
Congratulations to the winning photographers – and much love to the mums, buns and families depicted in these beautiful shots.
If you – or someone you know – has experienced the loss of a baby, please visit sands.org.au to access resources and support.
