Photographing birth: Save The Children’s Universal Motherhood project

The charity commissioned five photographers to document childbirth, as experienced by five women from different parts of the world. We spoke to Ivy Lahon, Creative Lead at STC, about the technical challenges and ethical considerations needed for the project

On Mother’s Day this year, Save The Children (STC) released the Universal Motherhood project; a series of powerful images and a short film which documents the birthing journeys of five women in five very different circumstances. Each shares her story, and the stories in unison tell the story of motherhood.

The campaign aims at highlighting the importance of professional care at the time of childbirth and how the lack of medical attention leads to more neonatal deaths than there should be; 2.6m mothers across the world lost their newborns in 2016 according to the UNICEF.