Selena Rollason, a talented Photographer, was lucky enough to capture the incredible moment when a baby delivered by c-section reached out to touch her Mom’s face, just seconds after being born.
Stephanie Angelico gave birth to her daughter Olivia via an elective caesarean as the baby was in breech in the womb.
Usually, babies have no sense of where they are or what’s going on, but something made Olivia reach out to touch her Mom’s face moments after she arrived in the world.
Selena says that she’s never seen anything like it.
‘New babies don’t usually have a sense of where they are or who they are with when they are first born – especially in the case of a caesarean delivery,’ she explains. ‘They are also often wrapped up tight or covered heavily in blankets and unable to move their arms and legs.
‘In this case, baby Olivia was placed on her mum’s chest for skin to skin time and given the opportunity to be in close contact with her mum. ‘This allowed for a beautiful bonding opportunity between the baby and her mother where it appeared as though the baby clearly knew who she was and she was trying to reach out for her. ‘Despite the more than 20 caesareans and more than 100 births I’ve attended, I’ve never seen a baby repeatedly reach out for her mother in this way. ‘The level of familiarization that the baby had with her mum was evident. She didn’t just reach out for her once, she just kept doing it. I was in amazement.
‘When I realized what I was witnessing, I couldn’t believe how incredibly special it was to not only be present to witness this moment but to be able to capture it for the parents. ‘I’ve never seen something like this in theatre between a mother and baby before and to be honest, I’m not sure when (or if) I’m likely to witness it again.’ Stephanie said the moment was pretty special for her, too.
‘Having skin to skin contact with Olivia as soon as possible was especially important to me because I was having a c-section,’ the mother said.
‘When she started to reach out to me and touch my face it was such a heartfelt moment. ‘This little baby who had been growing inside me for nine months – it was like she immediately knew who I was and this was where she was meant to be.’
Images credit: Selena Rollason / Caters News