When I walked out of my first prenatal with a homebirth midwife, I knew this was something to which everyone should have access. I wanted to find a way to make midwifery care more accessible to the Northern Neck of Virginia. It would be a big task, as the area presents special challenges. The only hospital on the Northern Neck closed its labor and delivery unit in 2004. A standalone birth center opened in 2010, but closed the next year due to financial challenges.

As a birth photographer, I’ve captured over 125 births since having my first daughter. Each story I documented was as unique as the woman I worked with; the myriad of birth stories I saw reminded me that life is full of both unforeseen turns and unimaginable beauty. I sat beside many of my clients as they saw their birth plans change drastically, and I witnessed the strength that women possess when they’re asked to do something that perhaps they had previously thought impossible. After I sent off an edited gallery of images or when I met with a client for the very first time, I found myself thinking how blessed I was to have found a calling that demonstrated the immense power of womanhood and sisterhood again and again.

Labor in a developing country can be very different than in a developed country. In this second in her series of article, Vicki Penwell shares the challenges faced by laboring women in the Philippines and other countries.