Nashville Birth Videographer + Photographer | How Birth Videography Can Help Heal From Birth Trauma
How Birth Videography Can Help Heal From Birth Trauma
Birth is one of the most powerful, life changing experiences a person can go through. But for many, it doesn’t unfold as expected. Birth trauma...whether physical, emotional, or both is more common than most people realize. It can leave new parents feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or even robbed of the joyful moments they hoped for.
I have seen clients who simply had a birth go differently than they envisioned, nothing bad happened, they weren't transferred, it was just... different. Rewatching their film back showed them that the birth was far more peaceful than it felt at the time and it helped them rewrite the narrative that they had begun to tell themselves. Oftentimes, trauma can result more from the story we tell ourselves about the birth than the birth itself. It doesn't mean there wasn't trauma, but when we can rewrite that story or get clarity or reframe the story, it can make all of the difference in how we process our birth.
As a birth videographer, I’ve seen how documenting a birth can become more than just creating a keepsake...it can actually be a tool for healing.
Understanding Birth Trauma
Birth trauma looks different for everyone. For some, it may come from an emergency intervention, a long or difficult labor, or moments where they felt unheard. For others, it’s the emotional weight of plans changing in an instant. No matter the details, birth trauma can leave scars that linger far beyond the birth space.
While professional support from therapists, doulas, and supportive care providers is essential, having your birth documented on film can provide a unique path toward processing and healing.
How Birth Videography Helps in Healing
1. Reclaiming the Story
When a birth feels chaotic or traumatic, the memories can feel jumbled, incomplete, or clouded by stress. A birth film allows parents to revisit their experience with clarity. Seeing what actually happened...moments of strength, support, and resilience can help rewrite the narrative from one of fear to one of empowerment.
2. Noticing the Love You Missed
In the intensity of labor, it’s easy to miss the small but powerful gestures happening around you: a partner’s hand on your back, the way your birth team worked together, or the first cry that filled the room. A film captures those details so you can see them later, often revealing love and support you didn’t realize were there in the moment.
3. Affirming Strength and Courage
Trauma can make someone question their own strength. Watching your own birth story reminds you of the incredible endurance and courage you carried through...even when things didn’t go as planned. This reframing can be profoundly healing.
4. Creating a Bridge for Connection
Sometimes birth trauma makes it difficult to bond with your baby or partner afterward. Seeing your birth on film can help close that gap, highlighting the joy, connection, and beauty that existed even in the harder moments. It creates a tangible reminder that love was present all along.
5. Honoring and Processing the Experience
A birth film doesn’t erase trauma, but it creates space for reflection. Watching it, sometimes alongside a spouse or support person, can help parents process emotions, cry, grieve, and begin to heal with a fuller perspective.
Why Birth Films Are More Than Just Keepsakes
Birth videography isn’t just about capturing a baby’s first breath...it’s about honoring your journey. For families who experienced trauma, a film can be a mirror that reflects back strength, love, and resilience. It can remind you that even though things didn’t unfold perfectly, your story still matters and is worth remembering with tenderness.
If you’ve experienced birth trauma, you are not alone. And while healing is a process, having your story documented can be a powerful part of reclaiming it.
I love filming births and would love to chat about your birth!
The Birth of Beckham Ryan
I received Joy's call around 5 AM that it was time to head her way. She lives about 1 hour and 15 mins away from me. Im on the west side of Nashville and she lives east of nashville, so I had worried about traffic... but she went into labor at the most perfect time. No traffic at all. I drove during sunrise to meet her and her birth team at her home. This would be her 2nd home birth and 2nd newborn baby boy. Her country home is truly way out of town. Her beautiful farm house was so peaceful when I arrived, that I decided to include it in her birth film. The sun was coming up and the birds were chirping. It was such a peaceful morning - which ended up being a predictor of exactly how her birth atmosphere would be.Joy was laboring and her doula, Chelsey Fischer, was at her side when I arrived. Occasionally, her husband would swap places. Joy made little noise during this part of her laboring. She just has a quiet nature. You could feel the trust and knowing in the room. That things would be good and beautiful. The word I have used to describe Joy's birth has been PEACE. and I knew I had to find a song that really reflected that and helped you - the reader or viewer - feel that sense of peace we all felt in that room.Her midwives, Nova Birth Services, were there but giving her plenty of space to labor peacefully. They would check the baby's heart rate occasionally but mainly watched from a distance. I love midwives that just let birth do its thing. This was my first birth with Nova, and I really loved their vibe!During Joy's home birth, her older son was being fed and entertained by a sweet neighbor. But he did come into the room a few times and once to get a shower. I love capturing the entirety of the story. Capturing where he was during that time, him coming in to hug his momma between contractions. As well as him coming out of the shower. And then of course, we filmed him meeting his baby brother! He had the sweetest reaction.Joy began making some small noises and I knew something shifted. She delivered her new baby boy in just a few pushes and she had the most peaceful reaction to his birth. (I'm telling you - the word peace was there the entire time!)Afterwards, the midwives let her and baby just be for a while. Another beautiful part of home birth. They sat in the warm birth tub together and had their first nursing session while letting his cord pulse for a while. A first for me with this birth was the "floating placenta" where the placenta is placed in a little device and just floats in the tub with mom and baby.After some time, they cut the cord and daddy was able to hold Beckham for the first time. I love capturing this moment. He has been patiently watching and waiting and now he gets his moment of REALLY meeting his son for the first time! Such a magical moment.Then they transitioned Joy to the bed and she ate. They all hung out there for a while. And the midwives communicated that she could do that as long as she wanted. and then whenever she was ready, they would weigh baby and do the newborn exam. We all just kind of hung out together for a long time talking and laughing. I love home birth so much.If you are thinking about having your birth filmed and photographed, I would love to chat with you!
The Birth of Beckham Ryan | June 9, 2023 from Jennie Pyfferoen on Vimeo.
Nashville, Tennessee Birth Photographer + Videographer | Why is birth photography so important
WHY SHOULD YOU HIRE A BIRTH VIDEOGRAPHER + PHOTOGRAPHER...
...INSTEAD OF JUST HAVING YOUR PARTNER/MOM/DOULA/FRIEND-WITH-A-GOOD-CAMERA TAKE PICTURES FOR YOU?
A birth film is an amazing cinematic film telling the story of the day you gave birth. My goal is to tell THE WHOLE story. The story of who was there for you, how they supported you. How emotional your journey was bringing your baby into the world and how meeting your precious baby was a huge emotional experience.
Here are some of the reasons you should hire a birth videographer and photographer.
- To help you remember. The moments you are in labor and delivering your baby, make it impossible to be present AT your own birth. Many times, your eyes are close. You are focusing on getting through each contraction and pushing a baby out. So while, there is an amazing experience, you don't get to also have the bird's eye view of what happened. Even for Dad, depending on how delivery goes, he might want to remember as well.
Given that your birth experience is an intense journey, your memory will be lacking. Having a film to retell the story of your birth team and how they supported you as well as your bond with your husband and how impactful he was in your birth is such a treasure.
Being able to relive your baby's first cry and your first moments together. There is nothing more valuable.
For one, you cannot really comprehend the experience you are about to have. Its beyond anything you can ever prepare for.
You can't really grasp how important these moments...until AFTER baby is here .
As much as you believe your memory will not fade, it will. Between sleepless nights and nursing and diapers, the memories will fade as new seasons in your life come.
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Being able to revisit the most important seasons of your life, through video and photos, will be a cherished treasure.
Capturing the love that poured into your birth, how connected you were to your spouse. The first words spoken to your baby.
It's beyond words to have these captured on video.
Many mothers get these done in subsequent pregnancies. Why? Because they come to understand. They usually wish they had done a video and photos with their first baby.
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With modern technology, we are able to capture a lot on phones. But giving a husband or family member a phone to capture some video and photos, keeps them from experiencing the birth themselves.
They cannot be fully present for you.
It is also a lot of pressure to be responsible for capturing video of the birth, while simultaneously experiencing emotions themselves.
When you hire a birth photographer, you delegate the photos to a professional and let your partner do what they are best at, which is support you.
Wouldn't I be better off with a photographer who is also a doula?
This is a question I see often.
I fully believe in your ability to make that decision for yourself and fully respect it.
However, I have often wondered how anyone can do both effectively.
Especially with videography, I cannot possibly be in a deep focus on the story of your birth while managing to effectively support you through doula services.
In my professional opinion AND as a mother who had a doula.... I do not know how anyone can do both job simultaneously and truly show up in that role. Each one requires full focus and ability to adapt and be fully in that head space.
If one is doing both, they are not doing each job to the best of their ability.
I could go get trained as a doula, so I could offer it and compete. But at the end of the day, my #1 job is not being competitive. It's showing up for my client in the best way possible. I know my job is to tell your birth story and I know I need to be fully present in that role to do that WELL.
I work with so many second and third time moms who tell me that their number one regret from their first birth was that they didn’t hire a birth videographer + photographer. It’s normal to feel uncertain about the birth process when you haven’t gone through it, but one thing that seems consistent is that most moms say that their birth was one of the most powerful days of their life...and that it was also a blur.
There is so much happening physically and emotionally when you give birth, and there are so many little and big moments that you, your partner, and your children will want to look back on in the years to come. Much like your wedding day! As a professional birth photographer, I’m highly trained to read your non-verbal cues and to recognize the different stages of the birth process. My presence is often incredibly calming and reassuring to the families I work with. But most importantly, I provide my families with timeless images and sacred video of some of the best moments of their life.
If you are thinking about having a birth film done for your birth (with photos!), please reach out, I love doing a few births a year and would love to chat with you!
You can also learn more about Birth Videography and Photography here!
Below are some of my birth testomonials from past birth clients!
Nashville, Tennessee Birth Photographer + Videographer | Why is birth photography so expensive
Why is birth photography and videography so expensive?
Filming and photographing a birth is like shooting a wedding, except my client will call you at an unknown time on an unknown day. I make sure all of my equipment is ready and on me at all times, so I can drop everything and get there as fast as I can. Once I am at a birth, I could be there for 2 hours or 12, it's hard to say. But I'm ALL in, so I will stay for as long as it takes. I am on call from 37 weeks until 42 weeks. During that time, I cannot travel or even get into a kayak and go down a river. Because I have to be able to drop everything and go at any moment. Even if it's my son's birthday or soccer game.
Birth Photography and Videography is so unique.
Birth photography and video is unlike any other genre. I mean, we are capturing the most intimate possible milestone in a person's life. But in terms of cost, it compares to high end wedding videography and photography (which you usually get one person who does video and one who does photos, rather than one who does both!)
It takes a lot of skill to learn the craft of filming and photographing a birth. I need to be able to capture the birth in any light situation, be able to be a fly on the wall as to not disturb the birth space, and be able to beautiful tell the entire story - not just clicking a button on a camera.
After I come home from a birth, I have to sort through hundreds of photos and video clips. Video editing is extensively time consuming. There are so many pieces that go into editing a film. I never edit to just get it done, I take my time and make sure the music and the way I piece it all together tell the story of how mom labored, how her support team and husband helped and loved her through her labor and then how she was able to fully get baby out. After birth, mom holds and nurses baby and no one rushes baby from mom (since I do only home births)... so I hang around until baby is weighed and daddy gets to hold the baby. Sometimes, if it is day time, I get to capture siblings meeting for the first time. I get to capture these first beautiful hours as a family. The first latch, the first cry.... it's all so incredible.
You can divide up payments
This is true with any family film session or photography session or birth. As long as your total is paid in full by your session date or by the day I go on call, you can divide up payments in any way you want. I'm a big fan of letting you do it how you want and making it work for you. I am just so excited you are prioritizing these memories and I Cannot wait to work with you!
To learn more about my birth videography and photography, click here.
Here are a few things clients have said about cost...
Nashville Birth Videographer + Photographer | The birth of Faye Susan
The Birth of Faye Susan. Baby girl #2 for the Phamvan Family. Just a small warning, there is a lot of intimacy in this video.
Baby Faye arrived 2 days after her due date. Everyone patiently awaited her arrival with the anticipation of a home birth. Around Thanksgiving, it was discovered that Faye was breech. This caused some concerns but the birth team remained positive that baby would turn. A version was
scheduled for December 1st. Stresses were starting to rise. But a few days prior to the appointment, baby finally turned! The family could move forward with the planned home birth. We all rejoiced and went back to our patient waiting.
Erin (momma) has fast babies. There is always a concern that baby might come before myself or the midwife can arrive. But, thankfully, everyone arrived right around 8 cm. Great right? we have time? HA! Baby arrived within 15 minutes of my arrival! Momma was in the shower for 5 or
so of those minutes. I was working on my settings in between walking out of the bathroom to defog my lens. I was still working on getting my settings adjusted to the bedroom light when she says "I'm bearing down!" When baby is literally coming, you have to settle in on your camera
settings and just shoot and pray. Her scene was set for birth, with low light and lots of ambiance. Peaceful music and and warm calm environment for baby's arrival. That can make focusing and having a brighter film difficult, but thats the reality of filming in real life. Some birth
photographers and videographers will bring lights or a flash, but I feel thats too disruptive to the birth environment. I have labored naturally and environment is everything.
After Faye was born, I spent the next few hours filming and photographing their family together, as big sister came to meet Faye and as baby was weighed and measured. I love that they planned champagne together afterwards, it was such a perfect ending to this birth video.
Having your birth videoed and photographed is one of the most amazing decisions a mother can make. They forever keep that first moment as her baby was born, her first words she spoke when she saw her baby for the first time... That first cry. There is nothing else like it. I had my 2nd
birth filmed and photographed and it is the most precious gift. Memories quickly fade after birth and recalling the moments becomes harder and harder. I just wish I had my first son's birth also on video. Don't miss the opportunity! Reach out to me and let's talk about capturing your birth.
