Birth photographer Maegan Dougherty captured the sweet moment when a mom paused to breastfeed her older daughter while in labor with her second
Dougherty, a New Jersey-based birth photographer, snapped the image as the mom, Kate, fed her 2-year-old daughter with her second girl on the way.
“The timing ended up working out nicely. Their daughter was home with family members, and they decided to bring her to the hospital for a visit,” Dougherty, 37 said. “Kate expected she might want to nurse, and she was fine with that.”
“The fact that their little girl was nursing is such a normal part of everyday life that I don’t think anyone thought much of it.”
Dougherty, a mom of two boys herself, says that nursing often helps labor along.
“Nipple stimulation is often recommended as a way to naturally help labor progress, because it increases oxytocin,” she says. “Soon after breastfeeding, Kate’s contractions became more intense and frequent, and baby sister was born two hours later.”
