The photo of a baby whose umbilical cord spells “love” and it’s still attached to the placenta went absolutely viral. The baby was photographed 90 minutes after his birth together with the organ that has been feeding him for the whole 9 months.
The main goal of this photo made by Emma Nolan is to raise awareness for Maori culture where the placenta has a deep, spiritual meaning and it’s buried right after the birth of the baby. According to Emma, Western culture considers the placenta for something disgusting, which is totally wrong since not a person in this world would have existed without it.
“I wanted to show what birth really looks like since most people have never seen a baby still attached to its placenta. The placenta is not appreciated and respected in Western culture. It’s ignored and considered to be awful. Reality is, we wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the placenta,” says Nolan.
Harper and his parents
The tradition of the Maori people to bury the placenta and the umbilical cord represents the union between a newborn baby and the Earth. They even planted a plant on the same spot where they bury the placenta.
Baby Harper was born at his own home and his placenta will be buried under a tree on his grandfather’s farm in New Zealand.