With 2 Raw Photos, Mom Gets Real About Feeling Disconnected After Giving Birth
When Lacey Barratt posed for photos with her newborn baby less than a day after giving birth, it was originally to document her postpartum body. However, the photographer and mom-of-five quickly noticed that these first photos captured something even more important: the struggle and emotional disconnect she was experiencing after giving birth.
The Australian mom decided to post the photos online with the caption, "Twenty hours in and we are making it . . . " along with an equally powerful explanation after realizing exactly what the confronting image showed.
I saw a woman who felt like after four biological births in five years and five children total, that this was her job. Like she was good for nothing else other than birthing babies. Like she is just going through the process. Pregnant, birth, postpartum, baby cries, boob baby, baby poops, change baby, raise baby . . . just going through the motions. There was no attachment. It looks like someone just dumped a baby in my arms. I feel no warmth when I look at this. Then, I felt guilty. I felt vulnerable.
Looking at these photos brought tears to her eyes and Lacey debated whether she should go public with her experience. Despite feeling unconditional support and having a positive birth experience, she needed to know that she wasn't wrong for feeling the way she did. "I knew it was normal, but I wasn't ready to spill my weaknesses until I *knew* it was normal," she wrote. "Feeling disconnected after a birth whether it be positive, supported, and empowering OR traumatic, disempowered, or poorly supported is NORMAL. Our emotions are EVERYWHERE."
Since posting the intimate images, Lacey has been inundated with stories reminding her that she is not alone and she's hoping to do the same for others. "For my [postpartum] mama's out there, don't be discouraged. You are not alone and you are doing f*cking fabulous," she wrote.