Photos show the emotional moment father helps deliver his grandchild
There were two grandmas, one grandpa, and an aunt in the room during the birth
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Your support makes all the difference.Incredible photos of a home birth have gone viral - showing the moment when the new mother’s father jumped in to help.
Steph Hendel Tarnofsky and her husband Josh always wanted to have a home birth and that they asked for both their families to be there.
But the birth, which was caught on camera by midwife Lindsey Meehleis, was made all the more special when the entire family stepped in to help deliver the baby boy.
According to the new mum, the decision to invite her mother and father occurred to her after she and her husband moved from Pennsylvania to California - and away from her parents.
“I am an only child and my dad is someone I look up to immensely,” she told CafeMom of her father and “best friend.”
So the couple took a chance and invited everyone to the birth - although it would be the first time the families had been "around each other for more than a week."
Fortunately, the meshing of the two families worked out as the couple welcomed their new son Johnathon into the room filled with two grandmas, one grandpa and one aunt.
“There were a lot of different energies and opinions around our home birth ideas, but Josh and I knew this was the best way to bring [our son] Johnathon into the world,” Tarnofsky said.
“I tend to urge parents to have the least amount of people around for birth so they can birth undisturbed,” she wrote - before describing the emotional moment the baby was arriving and the baby’s grandfather stepped in.
“Her dad arose from the couch and became a pillar in a building of strength for her,” she wrote. “He repeated mantras that they had made up together.”
According to Meehleis, the combined energies in the room ended up helping as Johnathon arrived - as each family member naturally assumed the role they were needed for.
The photos of the birth and Meehleis’ story of the unique labour have since received more than 2,000 likes on Instagram.
“Wow, what a beautiful story and photos. I can feel the love in them,” one person wrote.
As for Tarnofsky’s father, he’s been nicknamed “Doula Dad” for his role in welcoming his grandson into the world.
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