Striking photo of newborn lying next to mother's caesarean wound goes viral

More than 11 million people have viewed this picture on social media, but it has certainly divided opinion.
This striking photograph of a mother and baby taken just three days after being born by caesarean section has taken social media by storm.
Helen Aller, 29, took the black and white image of the woman and her newborn lying next to her wound.


The new mother, who does not wish to be identified, was terrified of having a C-section but wanted the picture to be taken as the operation had saved her and her baby.

The image touched a nerve around the world after Helen shared it online, and it has been seen 11.5 million times and liked by nearly 200,000 people.

Photographer Helen, from Guernsey, often takes photos of newborns and their mums, but said she wasn't prepared for the reaction her latest shot received.
She said: "I photographed this mama's pregnancy a while back and she was telling me how terrified she was of having a c-section.

"Last week she went into labour but had to have an emergency c-section after complications.
"She asked me to come over and shoot this particular image as her worst nightmare proved to be what saved her and her child's lives.
"My images usually get seen seen by 100 people at most so I never thought it would reach anywhere near what it has done.
"So far it has been seen by over 7.5 million people. I didn't expect this image to reach so far."
In the photo, the newborn - only three days old - is lying directly underneath his mother's scar from her emergency caesarean.