This birth was quite a memorable one for me, the birth of Ethan. I met his mother Ebony in the summer of 2017 and our first conversation was over the phone. She had a  sweet voice and she was very easy to talk too. And in no time, I felt like we had been friends for years. During our first conversation on the phone,  I discovered that Ebony was not well and was in the hospital. She explained to me that she has suffered from Sickle Cell Anemia since she was a young child. This put her pregnancy as high-risk and she would need extra support and love to help get her through. So she asked me to be her Doula. And I was more than happy to help. I was looking forward to being a part of Ebony and Ethan’s birth story.

Ebony would spend quite a lot of her pregnancy in the hospital, dealing with painful Sickle cell attacks. These attacks would keep her in the hospital for weeks. And so, this is where we spent most of our time bonding together and getting to know each other. I would go to visit her and keep her company. We would walk the halls of the hospital together as she slowly gained back her strength. We never actually had the opportunity to meet and hang out outside of the hospital because before we knew it she was 32 weeks pregnant and she had started preterm labour. This is where Ethan‘s journey began.

It was October 28th when I received the call from Ebony. She was having pains that she thought were surges, so she went to the hospital. And as she suspected preterm labour has started. The doctors told her, she was 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. I finished packing my bag and went to hospital to join her.

When I arrived at the hospital, the doctors and nurses were trying their best to slowdown her labour, there was a chance she could be on bed rest for a very long time (she still had 8 weeks to go). The hospital was the safest place she could be, so she tried to rest and I went back home for the evening to return quickly with her call or to see her the next day.

In the early afternoon of October 29th the call came and I went to her side. It was decided that Ethan was to be delivered via C section sooner than later. As much as everyone wanted to keep Ethan safe inside her belly for as long as possible it was no longer a viable option. His heart rate had dropped dramatically multiple times throughout the night. So this little boy was ready to be apart of the world whether we all liked it or not.

He came much sooner than expected but don’t mistake his early appearance for weakness. I was blessed to hold his mothers hand while he was safely brought into the world.

This was the birth that inspired me to pursue birth photography. This was the birth that changed my direction and solidified my purpose. So thank you Ebony for believing in me and allowing me to share your story.