Australian Geographic Article - Birth & Parenting

Passing this on as my contacts in the birth industry say the person producing this is trusted to present this well.

BIRTH DAYS

Photographer Frances Mocnik and I are producing an endearing and enduring story on the Australian experiences of birth for Australian Geographic magazine.

The story is exploring the social, cultural and geographical conditions under which Australian couples birth, various models of maternity care, scientific breakthroughs in assisted reproductive technology, and tells the stories of some of the dedicated characters working behind-the-scenes to ensure optimal birth experiences.

Many couples have generously opened windows on their lives to enable us to document this truly miraculous event. As our deadline approaches, we are now specifically looking to interview and photograph couples in the next two
months who are planning to:

* Have a home birth;
* Have a water birth in a home or hospital setting;
* Serve as surrogate parents;
* Adopt out their child;
* Give birth to a child that will be raised by same-sex parents;
* Travel from their rural home to a regional or urban setting to birth;
* Give birth in a manner consistent with their cultural, ethnic or religious
beliefs; (for instance, we would love the opportunity to document a
traditional-style birth of an indigenous child)
* Celebrate the birth of their newborn with a particular cultural ritual or
rite;
* Have a large support team present at the birth of their child.

Maybe you or someone you know has a fascinating story of conception to share or plan to welcome your child into the world in a truly unique way.

Respectful, sensitive and compassionate interactions are assured. All couples are guaranteed involvement in the development of the story material and are invited to review both text and images prior to publication.

If this project sparks your interest we would love to hear from you and to share your story. Please call Amanda Burdon on 02 9938 5464 or email aburdon@ozemail.com.au as soon as possible.

It is Australian Geographic policy to give all sources mentioned in stories the opportunity to review manuscripts before publication. Additionally, because of the intensely personal nature of this story, we will undertake to give all people featured in the black-and-white photographs the opportunity to view the images selected for use before publication. Our behaviour at all times would be respectful, sensitive and compassionate as we adopt a truly collaborative approach to the story's production.

I hope you might be prepared to support our work and I look forward to hearing from you soon as our project nears completion.

regards
Amanda Burdon