Emily Dial has extensive experience giving birth to infants in a variety of settings as a midwife.—but likely none will ever compare to the moment she delivered her own baby via C-section in March 2018.
“It was a perfect moment. It was probably one of the most perfect moments of my life,” the Kentucky said, adding the biggest shock to her was the baby’s sex. “I really wasn’t thinking about my belly being wide open. I was just like, ‘Oh my God! This really is a girl.’”
Sarah Hill, a photographer from Kentucky, US, said it was by far one of the most incredible shoots she has ever been on. She captured Emily Dial, her own midwife, as she expelled the baby from the mother.
Sharing the photos on Facebook page, Hill, says of Dial, “She was meant to bring babies into this world and didn’t let a little thing like a C-section stop her from delivering her own! To watch her colleagues rally around her and make this happen was so beautiful.”
To make it happen, Dial stayed in “professional” mode as much as possible during the delivery by scrubbing in and wearing gloves.
Mum Emily Dial said: “It was an incredible feeling to reach down, feel her head, then slowly feel the rest of her coming, but a little strange not being able to feel the rest of my abdomen.
“Lifting her out and seeing her face-to-face is that surreal moment every mum relives the rest of their lives: that moment you are face-to-face with your child and having that moment of awe.”
And although delivering your own baby via C-section is not for everyone, Dial says she wants other women who give birth by cesarean to take something crucial away from her experience.
“You can still have a great experience,” she says. “It doesn’t mean you have to just be laying on a table. You can still be a part of your birth. Even if you’re not pulling your baby out, you can still be an active part of your birth and have a great experience.”
[This story was originally published on March 15, 2018. It has been updated.]
