Mamas in Ukraine—and around the world—achieve the impossible

There is so much going on in the world right now. There is so much that happens on a day-to-day basis, but motherhood never stops and is quite universal, no matter the circumstance. This photographer encapsulates all of these feelings into one moving birth statement.

“During her labor this mama said something I’ll never forget. She was approaching transition, waves of contractions were coming faster and stronger, and everyone in the room could tell that her labor was hitting that turning point from manageable to the “I can’t do this” stage.

And while she was acknowledging her own pain she also said, “I could be giving birth in Ukraine right now—someone probably is doing that right now.”

Whatever the circumstance, when the time comes, birth happens.

And I had to hold back tears because she was right—because women *are* giving birth, all over the world, every day. In war zones, in hiding, in abusive homes, sometimes completely alone.

Whatever the circumstance, when the time comes, birth happens. And there is tremendous power and tremendous tragedy folded into that truth.

And whatever the circumstance, I am forever in awe of mothers and the way they achieve the impossible.”

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