You were held: a midwife photography project in complex safeguarding situations

There are many women who have struggles in their personal life that may ultimately lead to the risk of being separated from their babies. These are particularly challenging situations for all concerned and midwives are often at the forefront of providing support. In this project Gaynor Morrison, Senior Lecturer, Kingston University and Sharon Bunford, Named Midwife for Safeguarding Vulnerable Women and Babies, Perinatal Mental Health and Teenage Services, PMA. Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust share a photography project to enable memory making.

This article outlines the provision of a photographic project by midwives for mothers who are at risk of being separated from their babies due to child protection proceedings. The photographs form part of a wider set of resources designed to help maintain a sense of connection between mother and baby while legal processes are ongoing, and to acknowledge and validate the profound loss and grief experienced by the mother.

There is a significant gap in the midwifery literature regarding the removal of infants at birth. However, McGrath-Lone and Ott (2022) reviewed evidence comparing experiences of perinatal loss and examined how these experiences relate to infant removal. Their findings highlight that parents value empathetic, genuine, and individualised care, as well as sensitivity and the provision of care in an appropriate and respectful environment. Born into Care – Best Practice Guidelines for When the State Intervenes at Birth emphasises the importance of creating opportunities for parents to form memories during their baby’s first hours and days in order to support ongoing connections (Mason et al., 2022). This perspective is further supported by DeBacker (2025), who advocates for facilitating meaningful goodbyes and memory-making while promoting collaboration and compassion in care.

Within midwifery practice, supporting memory-making in the early postnatal period is recognised as an important aspect of compassionate, woman-centred care. Photographs taken during a baby’s first moments and days can hold particular significance, especially for mothers experiencing vulnerability or uncertainty about their future relationship with their child. However, such images are frequently captured on mobile phones, which may be lost, damaged, or rendered inaccessible, resulting in the loss of irreplaceable memories.

Safeguarding contexts can further heighten these risks. Some mothers experience coercive or controlling relationships that limit their autonomy and access to personal belongings, including mobile phones. Mothers have shared how these circumstances have resulted in the absence of photographs documenting key moments in their children’s lives. From a midwifery and safeguarding perspective, recognising these vulnerabilities highlights the importance of equitable, trauma-informed approaches that support memory-making while prioritising safety, dignity, and continuity of care.

In a recent publication, (anon 2025) cites Professor Laura Abbott, who highlights that “facilitating meaningful goodbyes and memories is equally important.” The use of photography offers one way in which midwives can support the creation of tangible connections, with the potential to reduce psychological distress and support the processing of grief following separation. This approach aligns with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) which requires midwives to prioritise people, practise with kindness, respect and compassion, and respond to individual needs and vulnerabilities (NMC, 2018). The photography project provides an alternative, equitable, timely and cost-effective means of preserving memories. This is consistent with NICE guideline CG192: Antenatal and postnatal mental health, which emphasises the importance of recognising trauma, loss, and psychosocial risk factors, and providing emotionally supportive, trauma-informed care to reduce the impact of perinatal mental health difficulties (NICE, 2010). Additionally, this work aligns with NICE guideline NG194: Domestic abuse: multi-agency working, which highlights the need for professionals to understand how coercive control can limit autonomy and access to personal resources, and to respond in ways that promote safety, dignity, and emotional wellbeing (NICE, 2021).

Capturing the early relationship and bond between mother and baby through photography offers a meaningful way of delivering compassionate, woman-centred midwifery care when birth coincides with safeguarding and legal proceedings. This practice has the potential to validate the mother–baby relationship prior to separation, acknowledging its significance at a time of profound vulnerability and loss. By enabling memory-making in a safe and sensitive manner, midwives with cameras—supported by the safeguarding midwifery team—demonstrate an empathic, trauma-informed approach that upholds dignity, recognises maternal identity, and promotes compassionate care within complex safeguarding contexts.

References:

Anon (2025) Painting a Picture. Midwives Vol 28/July 2025 p8-13.

De Backer, K; Chivers, K; Mason, C; Sandall, J; Easter, A (2022) Removal at birth and its challenges for Midwifery Care. European Journal of Midwifery 6 (April) 19

Mason, C; Broadhurst, K, Ward, H and Barnett, A (2023) Born into Care: Best Practice Guidelines for when the state intervenes at birth. Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. www.nuffieldfoundation.org | @NuffieldFound

MBRRACE-UK (2024) Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care. www.npeu.ox.ac.uk

Mc Grath-Lone, L. and Ott, E. (2022) Perinatal loss: key messages for infant removal at birth: An evidence review, Rees Centre, Oxford University https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Perinatal_loss_key_messages_2022.pdf

NICE (2020) Antenatal and postnatal mental health: clinical management and service guidance (CG192). London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

NICE (2021) Domestic abuse: multi-agency working (NG194). London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2018) The Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. London: NMC.

Gaynor Morrison, Senior Lecturer, Kingston University and Sharon Bunford, Named Midwife for Safeguarding Vulnerable Women and Babies, Perinatal Mental Health and Teenage Services, PMA. Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

Gaynor Morrison

Gaynor has spent 30 years in the NHS and the last 15 years in the specialist area of Safeguarding vulnerable families. She has always shown an aptitude for teaching and facilitating learning and after completing a PG Cert in Education has now taken a senior lecturer post at Kingston University, London.

Alongside her midwifery career she is a keen portrait photographer with a special interest with working with people who are uncomfortable in front of the camera, making them feel at ease and comfortable. “Combining midwifery and photography is the perfect way to demonstrate the art and science of our profession. Taking considered, compassionate photographs of babies born into care is a project that has taken years to come to fruition, and I hope it will become available to all families across the UK when there is a risk of separation”.

February 2026