Only 5 days after giving birth, our founder and CEO Joanna Griffiths had a lightbulb, a-ha moment that quickly became the spark that ignited The Life After Birth Project.
In partnership with Carriage House Birth, the Life After Birth Project is a travelling gallery that highlights women’s postpartum journeys, as well as the stories that honor their transformative birthing experiences.
During a sit-down with Refinery29, Joanna explained that she wanted to share a new kind of message with moms: “You are perfect as you, you are supported, and you are seen."
This is the moment that gave birth to the growing project of not only normalizing postpartum experiences, but honoring them as well:
"I took this photo during a hospital visit with a lactation consultant three days postpartum. She told me my breasts were the same size and just as hard as "soccer balls" and handed me two ice packs to help with the swelling.
Elsewhere across town in those same few minutes, a team member stood in for me as we were honored with one of our biggest industry awards to-date. Mentally it was a battle. I could build a company, but I was struggling to feed my child. I felt like such a failure. The nurse provided me with nipple shields, something I knew nothing about but saved me during that first month.
Every image of breastfeeding I had seen the women looked natural, at peace and happy. I shared this photo and my sentiments on Instagram and was overwhelmed when over 100 people responded with their own struggles. In that instant, the idea for the Life After Birth Project was born. In that moment, my eyes were opened."
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Earlier this month, The Life After Birth Project kicked off in NYC with an exhibit that included the stories of 250 women who boldly shared their birth and postpartum experiences. Some of these women include Amy Schumer, Jemima Kirke, Jillian Harris and Ricki Lake. And we aim to grow the conversation and expand these narratives as the gallery travels across North America.
Our goal? 1000 submissions from beautiful, strong, powerful givers of life.
After wrapping up a successful tour in Toronto, we continued the conversation in Los Angeles atThe Riveter (@theriveterco).
We still want you to be part of it. To share your own photos with the Life After Birth Project, tag @lifeafterbirthproject and use the hashtag #LifeAfterBirth, or email lifeafterbirth@knix.com.