Powerful Support | Home Birth | Honolulu Birth Photographer

Amy contacted me early in her pregnancy, however, like most women, she was having a hard time convincing her husband that hiring a birth photographer was worth it.

The night before I left on my vacation to Washington I received a phone call. It was her husband, wanting to book me as their birth photographer as a surprise gift to Amy for their anniversary. I almost screamed in happiness. We got all details squared away and he surprised her a week later. I got a text message from her and we were both so excited!

A few weeks later Amy went into labor spontaneously. I joined them just as the sun was coming up in a glorious day, after days of heavy rain. I got to go on a walk with them around the neighborhood and then witness as she quietly slipped into the birth pool and labored on. A little before noon their midwife decided they needed some alone time to labor and let things progress into active labor, so me and her left. I got to take a nap, eat dinner and play with my kids.

I went back to their home at around 2am after Amy’s water broke naturally. It was still a long and hard process till their baby was able to join them earth side. She pushed for a really long time and powered through exhaustion, doubtful feelings and discomfort. She was a warrior. We all joined her in her fight and the collective energy in the room working together to bring Sylvie into the world was such a powerful thing to be a part of. In the end, baby Sylvie had a nuchal hand, meaning, her hand was tucked by her chin. This doesn’t mean there is a risk, it just means mom needs to work extra hard to push her baby out.

After pushing for long long hours, the head was born and dad reached over mom and grabbed their baby with the help of their midwife. He put Sylvie on Amy’s belly and with a little encouragement she cried right away. It was beautiful and rewarding and an amazing testament to the raw strength and power of a woman’s body and will, and what powerful support can do for a person both physically and mentally. Congratulations to the Hill Ohana <3