Ellie Cotton is no stranger to messy births. She's a photographer who specialises in snapping those precious moments when newborns make their way into the world.
But recently, she ended up delivering one too!
The English snapper was at the home of Cat Marshall and Will Stephenson, documenting the impending birth of the couple’s baby boy.
But when baby Marshall decided to arrive before the midwife did, Ellie rolled up her sleeves and helped to deliver the tot herself.
Although she was in a bit of shock, Ellie (40), who is mum to Eva (6) and Kit (2), said that she wasn’t all that surprised.
“I had an instinct about 15 minutes before it all happened that the baby was nearly there,” she told the Daily Mail.
“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to panic the mum, so I just kept looking out the window for the midwife.”
“Then mum just said, ‘I think it’s coming.’ It only took two pushes and the baby was out.”
While it was a fair bit of responsibility, Ellie said that the suddenness of the birth really saved her nerves.
“I didn’t have time to think about it,” she said. “We could see the baby was coming out so dad and I were catching the baby and trying to unwrap the cord from around his legs.”
“As soon as we were happy everything was OK, and the baby was breathing and crying, I rinsed off my hands and got the camera out. It was lovely.”
Baby Marshall was born in a home birthing pool using the Hypnobirth techniques that Ellie also used for her son’s birth.
New mum Cat couldn’t be happier, and is extremely grateful to Ellie for keeping her cool.
“We knew when we met Ellie that she’d be a fantastic choice – but little did we know how fantastic,” she said.
“She knew exactly what to say to give us some brilliant support, and as the baby arrived, stepped straight in to do exactly what was needed. When I say we couldn’t have done it without her, we genuinely mean it!”
What a fab story for baby Marshall when he’s all grown up!
