'What about mama?': Touching photo of mum moments after giving birth goes viral

The post resonated with mums all over the world. Photo / 123RF

A photographer shared a powerful image of a mother, moments after she gave birth, and the photo has resonated with mums all over the world.

The moving photo was taken by Alex Michele and shared on Facebook, where it struck a chord with thousands of people, reminded of their own experiences with childbirth.

The photo takes the traditional focus of the childbirth narrative from the baby and centers it on the mother and the sheer physical pain she goes through.

"I saw you, mama. I saw the pain in your eyes and in your face and in your body," the photographer posted, alongside the touching picture.

"Because this is now a new season called postpartum. We tend to forget our mamas when babies are around. We ask how baby is, what does baby need, can we hold the baby, can we buy this for the baby but ... what about mama?"

The photographer took the opportunity to remind everyone that the new mum needs a lot of attention in the postpartum phase of her life, and that attention should go beyond medical care.

"Meals dropped off, someone to watch baby so they can shower, solid childcare for her other children, house cleaners to stop by and help out. Heating pads and coffee and comfy PJs. Maybe fast food. Or a friend to fold laundry. Maybe a new movie to watch or your Netflix login," she wrote.

"Let's not forget the mamas. It's just so easy to because women are incredibly strong and seem to have it all together but they need the support and the extra hands more than ever entering into that fourth trimester."

The photo was posted three weeks ago and has been shared more than 173,000 times.

"This post is amazing and made me cry," a Facebook user commented. "After both my babies were born and my parents showed up, my mum had a huge gift bag for me of nursing shirts, lotion, perfume and many other personal things. She also hired a house cleaner for six weeks and brought us meals every night. My mama is amazing. I am so thankful and I learned from this. It's so important to care for new mamas too."