Hilary Duff shares intimate photos of her recent home birth

Hilary Duff gave birth to her second daughter, Mae, earlier this year, but she’s just now sharing the gorgeous images from her home birth. The intimate photos document her entire birth journey and the different ways she tried to get labor going while staying comfortable at the same time.

In her caption, she shed light on how vital it is was for her to have the right type of support surrounding her during this momentous event—and honestly, the pictures are stunning.

“Finally feeling ready to share some photos of Mae Mae’s birth day!!!” she captioned the set of images.

In the photos, Duff looks pretty darn put together for someone in the throes of labor—perhaps giving birth in the comfort of your own home helps you look less like a disheveled, sweaty Viking woman? Asking for a friend.

“For me to feel safe during birth and get to where I need to go, it’s crucial to have the right support system,” she wrote. “The perfect amount of space, counter-pressure, humor, stillness and people that support my power.”

She credited her husband, Matthew Koma, and her doula, Molly, for providing her with the exact kind of support and energy she needed in the moment, and mentioned that her own mama was watching as her baby brought another baby into the world.

“My own mama was there to make all the snacks and watch with a big nervous smile as her baby brings her a new grandbaby earthside,” she continued. “The help that I have to support my other children while I am not able is maybe the most comforting thought of all. All hands on deck. Forever lol.”

Duff and Koma have an older daughter, Banks, and Duff has a son, Luca, with ex-husband Mike Comrie. While she’s clearly not a novice at giving birth, she acknowledges how difficult the entire journey of pregnancy and childbirth are for every person who endures it.

“This is hard work…every way a woman brings a baby in is,” she said. “From getting pregnant, to c-sections, hospital or home births, the breast feeding journey (oy vey that one gets me every time) and raising these little beings responsibly to be stand up, confidant, kind citizens of the world. It’s completely consuming. A tedious, magical, miraculous adventure…So cheers almighty mothers. You make mountains move daily.”

Congrats on your beautiful family, Hilary! And thank you for generously sharing your birth story with the world.