Paula D'Amore, a proud mother of three from Florida, decided she wanted a photographer to capture the birth of her third child.
D'Amore hired Paulina Splechta, a professional birth and motherhood photographer, for the special day.
When that day finally arrived, D'Amore didn't want to rush to the hospital. She spent some time at home looking at her birth affirmations, and it finally came time to go. But what happened next was truly amazing.
Shocking everyone, D'Amore gave birth to her new baby girl right in front of the hospital… in the parking lot!
Although the car wasn't the planned location for her daughter's birth, the surprise arrival was a beautiful and joyous occasion, as with this couple who had to stop in front of a church to their deliver their baby as a wedding was taking place.
Regardless of the circumstances, D'Amore's little girl was in good hands and is in now in very good health.
LittleThings spoke with Splechta, who caught the entire miracle parking lot birth on camera. Scroll through below for a look at her incredible images!
Do you have a unique birthing story? Let us know in the comments.
[H/T: ABC News]
After having her first two children, Paula D'Amore realized she didn't have many photos of their births, and wanted to ensure snapshots were taken of this special day.
D'Amore hired a birth photographer, Paulina Splechta, to follow her around on the day of her daughter's birth. What Splechta was able to capture on film was a bit unexpected!
This being her third child, D'Amore said she felt she knew her body better and labored at home as long as possible.
Eventually, she decided it was time to make her way to the hospital.
A few minutes into the trip, D'Amore had the urge to push. "It just takes over your body," D'Amore explained to ABC News. "It's not like you can control it."
Everyone quickly went into action to assist in the birth of D'Amore's baby girl. The midwife she hired met them in the parking lot right in front of the hospital, and Splechta was close behind.
Splechta says she's been capturing births on camera for over two years now, but this was was definitely not easy! Between the amount of people assisting and the odd angles of the car, she had to really work to catch the important moments on film.
"You have to be on your toes," Splechta told ABC News. "There's only one chance to get that particular shot and if you don't get that shot, there's no second chance at all!"
Needless to say, Splechta got the incredible shots D'Amore was after.
"It's almost like an out-of-body experience because I'm going through all of this and now I'm able to look back at the photos [and say], 'Wow this just happened,'" D'Amore told ABC News.
The location where D'Amore's baby girl was born isn't the only extraordinary part of this story.
"This was the mother's second successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean birth) — that is amazing, and a very unique and small percentage of women in the United States, and a very small percentage of medical providers who accept VBAC patients, especially second-time VBAC patients," Splechta told LittleThings.
Although many women have successfully been able to experience a vaginal delivery with their second child after receiving a C-section with their first child, there are risks. Some hospitals don't offer VBAC because they don't have enough staff or resources to handle emergency C-sections.
Fortunately for D'Amore and her family, the experience went about as smoothly as it could have and she gave birth to a healthy 8 lb., 6 oz. baby girl.
All in all, D'Amore received 100 to 150 photographs of her birth. She says the investment in a photographer was absolutely worth it in the end.
Thanks to Splechta's incredible photography skills, D'Amore and her family will always have these amazing memories to look back on.
If you'd like to look over Splechta's beautiful birthing and motherhood photographs, visit her website, and don't forget to SHARE this mother's incredible story!
