Touching post-birth photograph shows the important work of nurses
A photograph capturing the close bond between a nurse and her patient who had just given birth has gone viral.
Katie Lacer, of MommaKT Shoots Photography, had been hired by a mother-to-be in Indiana to document her birth experience.
Lacer took a photo of her client's first post-birth trip to the bathroom, showing the nurse kneeling on the floor beside her offering her a cold pack, as the new mother went to the toilet.
Jill Krause, who runs the popular blog Baby Rabies, posted the photo to her Facebook page last week, explaining that it reminded her of her own birth experience.
It has since been shared more than 66,000 times, with 127,000 likes.
“I'll never forget the faces of the nurses who followed me into the bathroom after delivering each baby,” Krause wrote.
“That moment when I was so vulnerable, so tired, scared, shaky. My swollen belly deflating, and my modesty long gone. They treated me with such kindness and dignity.
"For me, these have been moments of empowerment and confirmation that I have a real village to help me, even if just for that little bit of time in a bathroom, on a toilet, while a kind nurse shows me how to put an ice pad on my mesh undies.”
The post has generated a flurry of support for nurses on social media, with fellow mothers sharing anecdotes from their powerful bonding experiences.
“Immediately after my first was born, the nurse turned to me and said, 'I know you just had a baby, but the hospital kitchen closes in 10 minutes and I can score you some chicken nuggets and fries if we move fast!' I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours. I wanted to kiss her!” commented one user.
“My delivery nurse grabbed my cellphone without me asking and snapped pictures of my boyfriend and I when they first put the baby on my chest.
"It was honestly one of the sweetest things anyone could've done for me that day ]]>💜
