How to Get Free Professional Looking Photos When Giving Birth at the Hospital
During this uncertain time, pregnant moms are anxious about the thought of giving birth without their support team, or in some cases without their partner.
That’s stressful enough, but what about capturing images of your newest little bundle too?
One incredible photographer, who happens to be a KC native, has come up with a way to save the day!
If you (or someone you know) is worried about getting the first pictures of your newborn, check out this amazing solution.
Because most hospitals understandably aren’t allowing visitors right now, you may be anxious about how you’ll capture the memories of those first moments after birth.
Photos, videos and loving memories of bringing your child into this world are important. Now you can rest easy.
Professional Pictures of Your Newborn?
Even though you can’t have friends or family take the quality pictures of you and your newborn that you may have otherwise done, you can use this solution!
Laura Foote, of Laura Foote Photography, is providing free professional photo editing of photos new mothers are able to grab. So have the nurse, or others that are allowed to be with you, take pictures on your phone…
Whether it’s a selfie of you, the nurse and your baby, or a photo you’ve snapped of your precious newborn, Laura can make it look professionally taken.
You can rest easy knowing you’ll have quality pics of this special day to look back on for years to come.
Over 100 Images Delivered Already
In the time since Laura first launched this incredible mission, she’s already delivered over 100 images to mothers of newborns.
She loves photo editing and wants to continue to do more. Reach out! She and her team can help. Laura is expecting her own little angel in May. So she’s recruiting volunteer photographers to help edit the photos.
That way they can handle the workload, as more and more mommies are having to give birth without their usual support team during this unprecedented time.
How to Get Your Photo Edited
If you would like your newborn’s photo edited because your family or support couldn’t be there to grab “the perfect picture”, submit your images to Laura!
You can fill out this form to upload images and have them edited by Laura. It’s super easy…
Up to 10 images are FREE, but you can also donate directly when you submit. A portion of the proceeds will be directly donated to Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, an entity that helps photographers serve families who lose a baby. You can also directly donate if you’d like to and are able {that would be extra sweet}.
Laura is also continuing to edit photos for bereaved families through her volunteer work, so if you know a family who is going through that unimaginably hard time, please share with them.
How Did Laura Come Up with the Idea?
Laura herself is 35 weeks pregnant, so how to get quality photos of her new baby if her family couldn’t be in the delivery room was worrying her. She is also a volunteer with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, an organization that helps families who have lost a child or those who are losing a child get family portraits including all members.
If a photographer is unable to meet the families working with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, Laura has always offered to professionally edit any photos they have of their child for free.
So, when the current situation arose, it inspired her to offer editing to mothers who are giving birth without their supportive family (who often also serve as the photographers).
All families deserve beautiful images of this life event!
Photos are a great way to brighten someone’s day, and Laura’s mission is a wonderful way to make that happen.
Personal Stories from Mom’s Delivering During this Stressful Time
“Fletcher was born March 16, the first Monday that the country began shutting down due to Covid-19. As we entered the delivery room, we were informed that my husband would be the only one seeing myself and the baby for the next three days that we would in the hospital. Between the hormones and that news I was overwhelmed with emotion. Fletcher was a surprise baby and our family and friends were anxiously awaiting to find out what he would be. And now we were going to have to tell them through a window or FaceTime?! As they started my IV, the tears were uncontrollable. Luckily we had amazing nurses and doctors who took great care of us and lifted our spirits as we welcomed a healthy baby boy! We couldn’t have been more blessed.
After we were moved to our postpartum room, we found out that we could actually now have two visitors at a time. Although I wished more than anything our two girls could meet their brother together, I was thankful they were able to be there one at a time with their daddy and I will never forget the looks on their faces seeing their brother for the first time. For the next hour our family rotated in and out, and within 24 hours we were being discharged to get us away from any possible COVID exposure. It was a whirlwind of two days and a delivery I will never forget.”
– From Baby Fletcher’s mom (Anna Farner)
“I had an uncomplicated pregnancy up until 36 weeks when my midwife diagnosed me with gestational hypertension, it was a ‘soft call’ but the medical team decided that inducing me at 37 weeks was the best course of action for myself and unborn baby. My only birth plan leading up to this was that my Mum would fly out from New Hampshire to Colorado to support my Husband and I. My induction date was set for less than a week away and I was nervous, this was my first pregnancy to ever make it into the third trimester. In the last handful of years we had experienced two miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy, making this baby just that much more special.
My husband is active duty Army and we began to hear rumors that the Post would be limiting visitors due to the COVID-19 concern, that the hospital was planning to limit their services and that there was very little information about pregnant women and newborn babies and how COVID-19 affected them. Then the hospital released that only one visitor would be allowed in labor and delivery with each patient, making my very simple birth plan now non-existent.
Within a day of the rumors running around, I called my parents to let them know they needed to cancel their flights out, as travel concerns were heightened and the rumors were not just rumors anymore. Time to trust in higher power and go with the flow. I was induced Saturday morning and labored for two days before delivering our sweet Rowan Monday morning at 5:15AM via emergency c-section.
I wasn’t able to hold my baby for the 45 minutes it took the medical team to sew me back up, but my husband handled skin to skin like a champ and soon we were all together in the recovery room. Despite the buzz of concern in the hospital, life felt peaceful and magical in that moment. I am incredibly grateful for the nurses, midwives and doctors who cared for me and baby Rowan during this pandemic. Truly crazy, but beautiful times.”
– From Baby Rowan’s mom (Emma Whittemore)
You can find more about Laura’s efforts on her site, so be sure to check it out. While Laura is currently based in Tampa, she and her adorable family are moving back home to the Kansas City metro this summer. Be sure to bookmark her site and follow her on Instagram. Once we get past these bumpy times, she’d love to do your family portraits 🙂
If you or someone you know is in the later stages of their pregnancy, share this with them!
They will love the opportunity and feel a little comfort knowing it may not be what they expected, but they can still have beautiful photos to remember the day.
More Tips for Delivering During These Times:
Vanessa Flood, local doula and doula educator as well as owner of Birthing Beyond, has provided some additional tips for expectant mommies during this COVID19 time:
- Take a virtual childbirth class. These can be found through your local hospital, independent educators or online. Decreasing the unknowns prior to birth can help you know what to expect. It is hard to learn new things in labor!
- Many of our local birth doulas are providing virtual support. They can help you create a solid game plan for labor, help your support person learn the best ways to support you, be available via phone/text/video in labor to help you both navigate labor and provide postpartum support. And for breastfeeding help many local IBCLCs are offering virtual consults too!
- Stay safe. Shelter in. Going into labor healthy eliminates a lot of extra stress and worry for you and your care providers. And remember, your nurse and OB/CNM are rooting for you and your family!
- Acknowledge that we are in unprecedented times. It is ok to feel all the feels–fear, anger, disappointment AND still be excited to meet your baby! Initial birth plans may look very different. And although you may be making very different decisions than originally anticipated you can still have an amazing birth day with one heck of a birth story! “
From our family to yours, iFamilyKC.
