A mum has shared touching photos of her home birth, including several shots in which her dog seems as concerned as anyone else in the room, and offers comfort to his human during the whole thing.
Let me explain: Brooke Ellington is a doula. That’s a woman who is not a member of medical staff, but provides emotional support or physical assistance before, during, or after a birth to make the whole process as easy as possible for the mother.
When photographer Kristin Waner was documenting the home birth of a mom named Brooke, she quickly noticed that the family dog, Ranger, was in nearly every shot.
“From the moment I walked in the door, Ranger was so excited,” Kristin, who owns Kristin Ann Photography, said. “You could tell he knew something was happening. He quickly came in to greet me, then headed right back to the bedroom to be with Brooke as she labored. He was very curious as to what was going on.”
“He laid under the bed watching her rock back and forth. He was a calming presence when the power and intensity of her contractions started.
Although birth in itself is beautiful, Kristin couldn’t resist snapping a few extra photos of the “bond between mom and baby and man’s best friend.” Every moment she saw the corgi interacting with Brooke, she tried to take as many photos as possible. “I knew this was special,” she said.
Once they moved to the birthing tub, “Ranger would come and give her another reassuring kiss, then back to the couch he went” until a baby girl, Berkeley, was born.
Even once Brooke’s daughter had entered the world and the ordeal was over, he was still trying to be a part of everything, welcoming the new addition to the family.
Although Kristin noticed the presence of the “little doggie doula,” she realized that Brooke didn’t.
“When I sent the preview to Brooke, she had no idea he never left her side,” she said. “It was so nice that I could capture that for her and she now can look back and see things she otherwise might not have noticed.”
What also made these photos of Ranger so moving was that Kristin had also photographed Brooke’s two previous births and recalled that with the very first delivery, she had a sweet dog named Ryder, who also never left her side.
“Ryder did not get to see the birth of Berkeley, but his brother Ranger was there to step in. I am so glad she was given not one, but two sweet corgis to help guide her through her journey.”
