This is the amazing moment a new mum lifted her twins out of her body during a caesarean section.
Gerri Wolfe, 41, who is now mum to 11, gave birth to twins Matilda and Violet by c-section at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, New South Wales.
Gerri had her heart set on a vaginal birth for her twins, as she had already undergone five caesareans and didn't like the surgical side of the procedure.
However, 36 weeks into her pregnancy, complications ruled out a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean). Undeterred, Gerri looked into the possibility of a 'maternal assisted caesarean'.
This meant doctors would perform the cesarean as normal, but she would lift her twins out into the world.
Admitting her doctor was initially unsure about her having such a hands-on role in the birth (to say the least!), Gerri was adamant she would try the assisted caesarean.
"My other caesareans were very sterile, very surgical, very impersonal,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
"People were talking about what they did on the weekend without even thinking about me laying on the table, going through this momentous experience of having a baby.
"The doctor was quite willing once he realised the risk of infection wasn't as high as he perhaps first thought.
"I came to him and said: 'This is what I need to reclaim my birth - to make it more personal for me'. It was more about making it that much more personal and for me to have a connection to the birth of my children."
Matilda and Violet were born on December 22. Before her caesarean, Gerri was taken into theatre, scrubbed down and given two pairs of elbow-length gloves to wear, before being given an epidural.
One pair of gloves were then removed, and Gerri was left with her arms resting on her chest, before she reached down to lift her twins out into the world.
"I wasn't allowed to touch anything. I wasn't allowed to move. Wasn't allowed to do anything until they had told me to," Gerri explained to the paper.
"That way, I was completely sterile. Then, after a while, he leaned over to me and went, 'are you ready to meet these babies?'
"It was just like a normal Caesarean from then until he said, 'reach down and grab your babies'.
"I just brought her, Matilda, up to my chest and I held her in my left arm. And then a minute later he said, 'come and get the other one'.
"Violet was breached, so it was a little bit awkward picking her up. But I reached out with my right hand and someone helped me turn her around the right way and put her on my chest as well.
"And then I had both of them!"
The twins are now home with Gerri and their nine brothers and sisters, with Gerri insisting they will be her last children.
Photos courtesy of Simone Harvey Photography.
More on Parentdish: