A mum has written a heartfelt message praising the nurses who cared for her after she gave birth, and encouraged other mothers to do the same.
Jill Krause, who runs BabyRabies.com, shared a photo that her friend, MommaKT Shoots, took of a nurse looking after a new mum.
Krause said the photo “took her right back” to the moment she was in the bathroom after delivering each of her children.
“That moment when I was so vulnerable, so tired, scared, shaky,” she wrote on Facebook on 13 September.
“My swollen belly deflating, and my modesty long gone. They treated me with such kindness and dignity.”
Krause wrote: “For me, these have been moments of empowerment and confirmation that I have a real village to help me, even if just for that little bit of time in a bathroom, on a toilet, while a kind nurse shows me how to put an ice pad on my mesh undies.
“Let’s hear it for the nurses and the doulas and anyone else who shows us how to make ice pad underwear (or helps with that first shower post c-section).”
The photo resonated with many other new mums, and was shared 67,000 times and had nearly 90,000 likes in one week.
Many shared heartwarming stories of kind acts their labour and delivery nurses had done for them.
“My delivery nurse grabbed my phone without me asking and snapped pictures of my boyfriend and I when they first put the baby on my chest,” one mum wrote. “It was honestly one of the sweetest things anyone could’ve done for me that day. I’ll always be thankful for that.”
Another commented: “Immediately after my first was born, the nurse turned to me and said: ‘I know you just had a baby, but the hospital kitchen closes in 10 minutes and I can score you some chicken nuggets and fries if we move fast!’ I hadn’t eaten in almost 24 hours. I wanted to kiss her!”
The photographer of the photo commented too, writing: “I’m absolutely loving these stories that everyone’s sharing. Thanks, Jill, for sharing one of my images - I love what I do.”