pregnancy

There's a touching story behind this birth photo, and the tattoo in it.

Every now and then you stumble across an image in your Instagram feed that truly stops you in your scrolling tracks and makes you pay attention.

Such is the impact of Texan-based birth photographer Leilani Rogers’ latest post, which shows a newborn baby being cradled skin-to-skin in the arms of her shirtless father, Hunter, sobbing with joy.

“This is a story about a mum and a dad who went through loss and persistence to get their baby,” Rogers’ caption reads. “That tattoo on his chest was done after their first miscarriage, and now his daughter lies her sweet head against it. Both of them a reminder of triumph.”

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Speaking to Mamamia about the photograph, Rogers said Hunter and his wife Hope had been struggling with infertility for some time before their baby’s birth.

“Their journey has been a hard one, having experienced loss and a threat of loss with this baby,” she said.

On hand throughout the nearly 30-hour-long labour, Rogers said the journey to her now famous image was “long and intense, but beautiful.”

“Hope laboured like a champ for 24 hours on Pitocin. When her body began to shut down a bit she got an epidural, rested for a few hours, and then gave birth effortlessly to sweet Evelyn the next morning.”

The image of Hunter with Evelyn, she says, was taken just 20 minutes after the birth.

Listen: everything you need to know about pregnancy and planning your birth discussed, on Hello Bump. 

“The tears started then and didn’t really stop,” Rogers says. “It was so sweet!”

Now at home with their two-week-old daughter, Rogers says Hope and Hunter are beyond thrilled with their daughter, and that she has “definitely bonded” with the trio through the experience, something that is common throughout her work.

“I really wanted to do something that mattered and wanted to preserve the precious fleeting moments in life that are easily forgotten, like the moment your baby is born.”

Follow Leilani Rogers on Instagram here, or see more of her photography here