This picture is going around social media and is featured in an article on cafe mom. The author discusses the problem being that the photographer needs to bet better aware of the background. I wish this were an issue of photo framing. What I see as the REAL issue in this photograph is in the background, and it's more than an exposed vulva.
Here's the REAL problem - Infant-Centric care. The parent, having just birthed their baby, their body still working to bring the uterus down, control bleeding, prepare for feeding this new baby and heal from birth - the parent who has just birthed is left alone. And this baby, who appears to be a very well baby is held by a hospital staff member rather than being on or near it's parent.
What is best for the birthing person in this moment is to be watched closely by their health care provider, who is nowhere in sight. What is best in this moment is for them to connect with their baby and to continue to be supported by those who have supported them through birth. As discussed in this report by NPR most maternal deaths in the US are preventable. Women have a 20-40% risk of suffering postpartum depression, depending on their race and other risk factors. This picture highlights just one of the reasons these risks may be so high - infant-centric care resulting in birth trauma.
What's best for the baby in this moment is skin to skin contact with the parent. This will help regulate the baby's body temperature, breathing, feeding, bonding, reduce cortisol levels and help protect the baby from losing too much weight. It will also help increase the amount of oxytocin in the parent’s body which will help prevent a postpartum hemorrhage, promote infant attachment and bonding, stimulate the nerves of the chest, and calm the parent’s nerves which may help stabilize blood pressure and reduce cortisol levels. Even if there were medical reason for the infant and parent to be separated, no parent should be left alone like this.
Those giving birth are not the background of birth and life - they are the center. The parent and baby should be cared for together, with equal importance and value.
