In this special feature, we share select images and stories from this year's Everyday Birth Photo Story Series. More than 65 photographers from across the United States and around the world submitted over 550 stunning images. Each story tells a single experience that reflects the profound essence of life.

Through the eyes of each parent and their amazing photographers, we are welcomed into sacred moments — stories that hold us, sustain us, and renew us amidst the beauty and joy, the challenges and grief, the highs and lows of navigating a complex world. While each is deeply and uniquely personal, they remind us of the undeniable ways that we are all interconnected.

As you explore these pages, may you feel the bonding connection, courage, and love that these parents and photographers have so graciously shared.

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I think every woman's first birth is a pivotal moment for stepping into her power. This photo is from my firstborn’s labor, which was long—something like 30 hours of active labor. When labor started, I wasn’t ready to fully step into my power. Toward the end, in between contractions, I remember looking around my bus at the five people there with me. They were starting to drift off, falling asleep between my contractions. I thought to myself, I’m going to lose them.

In that moment, I realized something profound: I’m the only one who can birth this baby. They can’t do it for me. It’s on me.

That’s when I made the decision to commit — to birth my baby myself, to step into that power, and to claim it. With my second baby’s birth, things went much smoother. I think it’s because I was already standing in my power as a mother. This photo of me is a snapshot of myself as a maiden. That labor — those roughly 30 hours — both broke me and made me the powerful mother I am.

Katie Ospina, 33, Florida

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"I was excited to be invited to be part of Katie’s birth team, for many reasons. I had never captured a birth in a school bus converted home and thought wow, it was beautiful they would be bringing their son into their lives in the home they built with their own hands.

Also, they live in a naturist community and I was curious how their environment would influence their birthing experience, especially with their first child. Because she lives rather far from me, I decided to come earlier in her labor and stay for longer than I usually would, and that created a unique opportunity for me of being able to witness and capture many more moments than I usually do, allowing for everyone’s comfortability to be at its peak, allowing for an incredibly honest capture.

This image, though previously unpublished, holds special meaning. It’s time to be shared has finally come, and I believe it has happened in its own and beautiful timing. I remember this moment as if it was yesterday: the stillness of the school bus, the warmth of the south Florida summer, Katie’s surges as the sun illuminated her strength, and I was grateful to photograph the moment of her transformation from maiden to mother and immortalize it in a still image."  Photographer Paulina Spletchta @psplechta_birthphotography

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The hospital wasn’t in our birth plan, but as soon as we heard our baby cry and she calmed as she recognized our voices, everything faded away and it became everything we needed it to be. Having the moment captured is by far one of the best decisions we made during the pregnancy.  

Trang Anh, 31, Washington

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"Despite careful preparation from these wonderful  parents to have their baby at home, their plans changed unexpectedly when they had to transfer to the hospital in the middle of labor. Birth is unpredictable but it is during these moments of unpredictability that we are challenged to be resilient and flexible. This family was open to the change and navigated the unknown with such courage and grace."  Photographer Tiarra Doherty @motherwolf.birthphotography

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The most meaningful moments of my birth story was the moment I got to hold my son in my arms and see with my own eyes that he was strong and healthy.

The other meaningful moment, the one I cherish the most, is the moment my one year old daughter got to finally meet her little brother. She was so happy she gave him a kiss, that night was the best part of all. After we left the delivery room and got set up in our new room I finally got to hold and cuddle both my babies while their dad my partner took the cutest photos. In this moment alone with my beautiful little family, that was when I knew without a doubt that everything was just right, and that made me feel so at peace.

Being able to capture my children coming into the world through birth photography means the world to me. Not only because it’s so beautiful and sometimes I love reliving those moments, it’s also because I look back and see how far I’ve come from who I was before kids, it makes me proud. I have changed so much and I brought beautiful lives into the world. Having that memory and being able to look back on it as my kids grow up is beautiful and I’m so grateful for it.

Gift Sharp, She/Her, Oregon

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"Sometimes, things don't go as planned in birth. Having had a home birth in her living room with her first baby, pivoting to a hospital induction for her second was not what she expected. In addition to being there as her photographer, I was also her birth doula for both her baby's births. I really admired the ease and grace with which she accepted this unforeseen change in plans and I think her ability to move into acceptance allowed her labor to unfold as it did. It's not easy to let go of the hopes and plans we had for our birth. It takes a lot of inner strength to let go of what could have been and surrender to what is needed in that moment." Photographer Natalie Broders @natbro.photo

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I think the most meaningful moment for me (Em) was the space I was given to just exist in the moment, no-one telling me what to do, no-one else controlling the narrative, just my body, my laboring body, and the right people around me there to give me whatever support I asked for. It means the world to me that I look back on that day and feel no shame, no embarrassment or regrets or what-ifs. No moment when I was told to be quiet, or made to feel less than the powerful, ancient, beautiful  and admittedly terrifyingly vast experience that is natural childbirth. And then in the end, I stood up from the birthing tub on my own legs, holding my fresh sweet baby girl, and climbed into my own bed, with exactly the people in that room who I wanted to be there with me, in exactly the place I felt the safest and most comfortable.

Mama Em Whiteseth, she/they @elmpixie_tattoos | Mapa Beni Whiteseth, they/them | Baby Marlow, she/her | Midwives @UnfurlingBirth

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"So many stories to tell in this calm and intimate setting-the lovely partner connection, the ways they cared for each other in the moment, the sweet relationship between the birthing person and their nanny kid who came to observe and provide support, the midwives at work and the critters-two dogs and a few cats, all sitting and waiting, wagging tails and curious watching."  Photographer Kimberly Kimble @rushesandwaves

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When Zion, my oldest son, cut the cord of my youngest son, it was absolutely a full circle moment. And it meant so much to me. I felt like when he cut the cord, he was closing the circle on our family, but it was also making us tighter at the same time. And that moment made my heart so full.

I think my whole birth was a reminder when you feel like you cannot do it anymore that, yes, you can. Because I felt like I absolutely could not have another natural birth. I felt tired in my body. I felt tired in my mind. But I was able to do it, and I felt like I did it gracefully. And I am so proud of myself for that. 

It got so tough for me mentally. It got so tough for me physically, but I was able to do it again and it reminded me that I am powerful. I am capable of doing whatever it is I need to get it done. I can do it again and again if I need to, and that's what his birth meant to me. It was symbolic of the power that I hold in my mind, my body and in my womb. 

Tata Taylor, She/Her, 36, Illinois @stayathomewithstyle on tiktok

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"Attending Tata’s third home birth was the most amazing déjà vu. I knew the family, the dynamics and the power within this mama. We are now bonded for life!" Photographer Jacinta Lagos @jacintalagosbirthservices

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The birth of our daughter was a truly magical experience. With the incredible support of Loïs Witmont as our midwife, it became a moment we will cherish forever. 

Anne Dikhooff, The Netherlands

"After a previous hospital birth it was so amazing that they were able to birth at home. And the best part: my amazing wife is her midwife!" Photographer Jessica Innemee @jessica_vi_photography

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The most meaningful part of our son Amadeus Zion's birth story is the connection he shares with his siblings, Zavion Elias and LaNiyah Grace. My womb has been the place where each of my children’s lives began, and through carrying each of them, their stories have become forever intertwined. Each of them has taught me something unique about love, strength, and the power of connection.

Each of their births changed me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. When Zavion passed away at just 6 months old, a part of us was forever changed. His loss created an ache that will always be with us, but it also deepened our understanding of love and how far it truly goes. Even though he’s not physically here, Zavion’s presence has never left our family. I see him in the way LaNiyah Grace loves and protects her siblings, in the joy Amadeus brings, and in the little signs that remind us Zavion is near.

Amadeus being born on World Honey Bee Day is one of those signs. Bees have always been a special way we connect with Zavion, and the timing of Amadeus’ arrival felt like a message from him—his way of reminding us that he’s still here, watching over us. It’s moments like that where I’m reminded how grief and joy can exist side by side, and how love continues to connect us all.

Having a home birth made Amadeus’ arrival even more meaningful. It gave me the space to feel safe, heard, empowered, and cared for. As a Black woman, that feeling of being truly seen and protected was especially powerful. My midwives and birth team created an environment where I could fully embrace the experience and let go of any fear. I felt cherished and supported in every way, and that meant everything to me.

It felt like Zavion was with us that day, connecting all of us in ways only siblings can. Watching LaNiyah Grace step into her role as a big sister to both Zavion and Amadeus has been such a gift—she carries their bond with so much love and grace.

This picture isn’t just about a placenta or a single moment—it’s about the connection between our children. It represents life, love, and transformation. Each of them has reshaped me as a mother and taught me how to hold space for both grief and joy. Their connection, and the love that continues to grow between them, reminds me that love doesn’t end—it expands, it deepens, and it carries us through everything.

‍Theo Velez, He/Him, 28 & LaDaiju J. Velez, She/Her, 29, Colorado

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"Every birth I attend and every client I support are special and unique in their own ways. Once in awhile, however you meet a client that you just want to embrace and wrap them up with all the love you have to give. This is how I felt when I met Ladaiju and Theo. Their love story, their career paths (him being a police officer, and her being a child therapist), their faith, the story of how their family has been created, their daughter, the son they lost, and their new precious little baby boy, all touched my heart in ways I simply cannot put into words.

This image, while many will see it as an incredible display of amazing progress against the disproportionate rate of maternal and infant mortality of women of color in the United States, is a stunning moment, an ordinary miracle as i like to call them, of the very rare support of a black woman, during her homebirth, in the most natural of ways. The message of this image goes so much deeper than racism, to the deepest depths of caring for all of humanity. No matter what you believe or who you choose to worship, this image shows the creation of life, the creation of a mother and father, the creation of a sister and brother, the creation of life even after death. The love and connection is palatable beyond what is seen by the naked eye, and extends to those beyond our physical world. To love is to live, and that is how we and those we love will carryon forever." Photographer Olivia LaGasse @precious3birthservices

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