Newborn baby photography for babies with health concerns

We all know how precious newborn babies are, and all first time parents have the fear of dropping their beautiful bundle of joy or squashing their tiny legs and arms into clothes, but what if your baby has some health concerns too? Understandably this can make you even more cautious, especially when it comes to having a newborn photoshoot.

But for almost all babies with health concerns, a newborn session is absolutely fine and gorgeous photos capturing those special moments are still possible and fully achievable.

My newborn photography process

To help new mums and dads relax about bringing their precious bundle to my St.Ives studio, I ask all parents in advance to fill in a session questionnaire which includes all of your baby’s medical checks. This will let me know what health concerns your baby may have, along with anything else I need to be aware of.

For example, the answers to the questionnaire will tell me details such as whether your baby was breech and if their hips are okay after birth, and based on these I can prepare for your sessions and start to think about what poses we can and can’t do.

Your newborn photography session

Each session starts the same, whether your baby has any health concerns or not, and that is with me spending the first 15-20 mins talking to you, the new parents, and holding your baby – getting to know you both and making sure your baby gets used to me. This also allows me to gain a sense of what will settle your baby and keep them calm, and what will annoy them.

And then, I let your baby lead the way – this is the best way to get an amazing set of photos and keep the whole experience for you and your baby as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.

What if my baby was breech?

If your baby was breech, or if your baby’s hips are a little weak from birth, then the froggie pose, like in this photo below, is unfortunately not an option for your baby as it can do more harm than good. Don’t worry though, there are still plenty of poses we can do and we’ll still be able to get some wonderful photos for you and your family to treasure.

What if my baby is suffering with reflux/colic?

Your baby can still have a newborn photography session but they will find it uncomfortable to be positioned on their tummy, so we will avoid those types of poses. As soon as I start to work with your baby I’ll be able to sense what they’re comfortable with, and what aggravates their reflux/colic and what doesn’t, so I’ll just alter the planned poses to ones that suit your baby and keeps them relaxed, and comfy and cosy.

What if my baby has feeding tubes?

Although feeding tubes do make the session slightly more restricted, it doesn’t mean that we can’t get a gorgeous gallery of photographs. We’ll just take a different approach to the posing of your baby and we’ll run a more lifestyle type of session, rather than a heavily newborn baby posed session – similar to this one below! 

Although this baby didn’t have feeding tubes, this style of image is known as “lifestyle” as the baby is in a “tucked in” pose where we place baby on their back with their arms tucked in, or in this case, arms are up stretched (all depends on how baby is most comfortable), and then a wrap is lightly placed over them making them look like their in bed – this pose ideal for babies with feeding tubes.

What if my baby has down syndrome?

Due to my training, I’m able to appreciate that your baby will have less muscle tone due to their down syndrome but, in regards to their newborn sessions, all this means is that they will need a little extra support when placing them into poses. In general, if your baby does have down syndrome, he or she is highly likely to be super chilled during their session and perfect to work with, so there is no need to worry.

What if my baby has to stay in hospital and will be older than the newborn 14 day window?

This is absolutely fine. There is no need to panic. If we miss the 14 day window because your baby has had to stay in hospital for a bit longer than expected, we can still take posed photographs when they’re a little older – like these beautiful twins who were 9 weeks old at their session.

All I ask is that you still let me know as soon as your baby is born and keep me in the loop as much as you possibly can so I can semi-plan for when your baby can come into the studio.

Remember…once you have paid your session fee your space is guaranteed, and I only take a specific number of bookings per month so I can offer flexibility to you, the new parents, just in case something unforeseen like this happens.

Hopefully this has helped to reassure you but if you have any more questions please feel free to contact me, I’ll be more than happy to answer any others you have.

Ready to book your newborn photography session? I can’t wait to get you booked too! You can call me on 07852264151 or email me at laura@perfectshotphotography.co.uk.