Pets supporting their humans through childbirth

Photography: Brittney Cruz

By Hannah Schenker

Birth Photography on Facebook is a community where photographers share their birth-related photography together in public slideshows. One recent slideshow, called Loyal Birth Companions, caught our attention, as it explores the inclusion of pets at births and the unique bond we have with our animals. We are lucky enough to share some of these images with you here today.

“Dogs and other pets seem to instinctively know that something is up during a pregnancy,” the Birth Photography group’s founder Laura Eckert told The Huffington Post. “They can become more protective of the mother-to-be, as though they sense that something is about to happen.”

“As these images show, pets are often very curious and maybe even concerned about what is going on during a home birth, and they often offer a sense of calm for the laboring mother,” she said. “To some moms it’s like having an extra support person right there beside them throughout their labor.”

Did you have a pet at your home birth? What was your experience of that? Were they curious and present? We’d be interested to hear your stories. In the meantime, please enjoy this slideshow.


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