‘Vulnerable’ mum shares moving photo of a nurse caring for her post-birth which shows the stark reality of labour
The photo shows a new mum being helped in the bathroom by a nurse, and other mums have used it as a way of sharing their own emotional labour stories
A MUM has shared a powerful photo showing the stark reality of labour - and praising the nurses who help women through it.
Texas writer Jill Krause posted the image on the , where it has already racked up over 100k likes.
The picture was taken by photographer Katie Lacer, known as , and shows a new mum in a bathroom shortly after giving birth, with a nurse on hand to help her.
She captioned it: "I'll never forget the faces of the nurses who followed me into the bathroom after delivering each baby.
"That moment when I was so vulnerable, so tired, scared, shaky.
"My swollen belly deflating, and my modesty long gone. They treated me with such kindness and dignity.
"For me, these have been moments of empowerment and confirmation that I have a real village to help me, even if just for that little bit of time in a bathroom, on a toilet, while a kind nurse shows me how to put an ice pad on my mesh undies."
The writer admitting that any time she sees the photo she's immediately taken back to that trip to the bathroom.
She ended her post by praising the hospital staff who work so hard to help mums give birth.
It read: "Let's hear it for the nurses and the doulas and anyone else who shows us how to make ice pad underwear (or helps with that first shower post c-section!) ."
It seems the post struck a cord with other mums, who quickly began commenting with their own stories of nurses who went above and beyond for them.
One explained: "My delivery nurse grabbed my cellphone without me asking and snapped pictures of my boyfriend and I when they first put the baby on my chest.
"It was honestly one of the sweetest things anyone could've done for me that day. I'll always be thankful for that."
Another didn't think she would have got through labour without her team of nurses, revealing: "[They] were all I had in the room with me when it came time to push.
"They were my strength until my mom was able to get there.
"They were the ones encouraging me and letting me know how great I was doing.
"Without them having my son would have been a scary and painful process."
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That was sentiment shared by many, including one mum who praised her "angel" doula who helped her through the birth of her second son just one month after her 13-month-old boy had passed away.
Seemingly summing up the moving thread, another woman recalled: "When I was pushing, I'll never forget pulling my face away from my nurse's chest to see her scrub top SOAKED with my sweat and tears.
"I was like, 'Oh my god I'm so sorry!' And she went, 'Baby, this is life all over my shirt. Nowhere else I'd rather be. Now let's get that baby out.'"
Earlier this year a mum offered a hilariously brutal description of giving birth after watching One Born Every Minute, while another mum shared the truth "no one talks about" after having her child.