The umbilical cord is the first tangible connection between a mother and 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦. This cord has given nutrition to the infant from the mother for nine months. And during nine long months, the mother’s love for that 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 increases in proportion.

Monet Nicole Moutrie, a photographer, used the opportunity to capture the awe-inspiring power of 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 in a stunning image. In it, a new𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 is still connected to his placenta by his umbilical cord that is adjusted to spell out the word “love.”

Photographer Monet Nicole Moutrie shared: “I attended this home 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 in the early summer of 2015. Erin, the mother, labored throughout the night and morning, with her loving partner Jess, by her side.”

“Birth is one of the most intense and beautiful experiences I’ve witnessed. There aren’t enough words to convey the strength, the joy and the surrender that 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 requires. In over fifty 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡s, this particular image moves me each time I return to it. It speaks so well to what 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 requires and the reward it offers.”

She added: “I love the physicality of this image-the perfectly coiled cord resting on the mother’s postpartum belly. And I also love the look of pure relief on the mother’s face. A relief that is mirrored in her newly 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.”

“Birth is intensely emotional and intensely physical. It surprises me each time, showing me glimpses of beauty and strength that have long been hidden from the public eye.”