Home / Birth These are the best birth photos of 2021—and they’re breathtaking Anne Lucy Silva Barbosa/ Anne Lucy Fotografia These are the winners of the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition. By Cassandra Stone November 17, 2021 Anne Lucy Silva Barbosa/ Anne Lucy Fotografia Rectangle Inside this article First Place: "Daddy's Girls" by Ashley Marston "The Origin Of Life" by Charlene Förster "The Greatest Love In The World" by Anne Lucy Silva Barbosa "Nourish" by Jami Edgar "Reach Down. He's Almost Here" by Dana Jacobs "My Body, My Birth" by Hanna Hill "Primal Shapes Of Birth" by Laura Brink "Grace" by Danny Merz "Nursing A Newborn" by Carey Lippert Giving birth is miraculous and messy; agony and ecstasy. In these powerful birth photos, photographers from around the world captured some of the most intimate and raw moments of birth for the 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition. The following series of photos are from this year’s winners. The contest, which is open to birth photographers globally, was initially founded by award-winning birth photographer Lacey Baratt as a way to legitimize the art of birth photography. “Despite birth photographers worldwide losing a majority of their work and income in 2020 due to the globalpandemic, I am thrilled to be able to feature the talent of our members in our annual image competition,” said Liz Cook, director of the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers (IABPB). “We are incredibly proud of the entrants of this year’s competition because in spite of all we endured inour community in recent months, this contest represents the resistance birth photographers have to overcomeunforeseen challenges. We are proud to present to you a breathtaking body of work that shares life’s mostpowerful moments from 2020.” As the number one birth association worldwide, IABPB encompasses more than 1,100 members in 52 countries. “Our association has grown by leaps and bounds and our members continually produce excellent, emotive,invaluable birth photographs for the families that hire them,” said Cook. “I want to thank each and every IAPBPmember who entered this year and, of course, the families who agreed to share their beautiful and sacred birthmoments with the world.” Without further ado, here are the winning photos of 2021—and they’re stunning. First Place: “Daddy’s Girls” by Ashley Marston “The Origin Of Life” by Charlene Förster “The Greatest Love In The World” by Anne Lucy Silva Barbosa “Nourish” by Jami Edgar “Reach Down. He’s Almost Here” by Dana Jacobs “My Body, My Birth” by Hanna Hill “Primal Shapes Of Birth” by Laura Brink “Grace” by Danny Merz “Nursing A Newborn” by Carey Lippert Related Stories Baby Shopping Guide 10 incredibly Instagrammable products for baby’s first year 📷 Birth These are the best birth photos of 2021—and they’re breathtaking C-Section Your guide to C-section recovery: Timeline, tips and what to expect as you heal Inside this article First Place: "Daddy's Girls" by Ashley Marston "The Origin Of Life" by Charlene Förster "The Greatest Love In The World" by Anne Lucy Silva Barbosa "Nourish" by Jami Edgar "Reach Down. He's Almost Here" by Dana Jacobs "My Body, My Birth" by Hanna Hill "Primal Shapes Of Birth" by Laura Brink "Grace" by Danny Merz "Nursing A Newborn" by Carey Lippert The latest Baby The preemie crisis in America: Why the US keeps failing its most vulnerable babies News They asked me to ‘prepay’ for my baby: The rising cost of maternity care no one prepares you for Birth We should stop discarding placentas after birth, scientists say Birth Stories When my youngest daughter was in the NICU, I felt like I was failing both of my kids