LIZ'S BIRTH STORY

Something was telling me that I was meant to be at Liz's birth. I don't know if it was that her parents were Brazilian and that, for me is like being neighbors, if it was the fact they needed a Doula and a birth photographer and were already in the last stage of pregnancy, if their immigration situation was complicated and I could relate to that, or simply that the voice of Larissa, her mother sounded familiar from the very first moment that we spoke on the phone. Either way, it was a unique experience and I'm happy to have shared it. Liz was born on a hot Saturday evening, in the house where her parents will have lived the last days before returning to their home country. Her mom worked hard to bring her into this world, focused. "Come down, daughter, come down," Larissa whispered between contractions. Her husband Rafa held her, comfort her, and knew exactly how to hold his heroine during her most tough battle. Vida, the oldest daughter of the two, watched the scene with ease and expectation. Because nothing is more natural for a child than to witness what we all experience first. Liz was born in the water and her mother greeted her saying "Meu amor", which means "My love". Those were the first words that baby heard. And me, once again thought about the importance of human beings entering the planet in a loving, calm, natural way.