Nature is truly marvelous. There's no better proof of this than pregnancy, where a woman's body grows and stretches to accommodate and nurture a fetus for 9 months. Post-delivery, one of the first things we mothers wonder is how on earth this entire human being fit into the small space in our midsections.
Dutch birth photographer Marry Fermont was captivated by this phenomenon.
"It's so hard to actually understand how it's possible to grow another human being inside of your body," she says. "Once they're out, it's also so hard to imagine that they have been inside of you all this time. To actually see how they fit—it's magical!"
That’s why she has amassed a huge amount of images that show just how newborns curl up into their womb positions:
Fermont says that this photo series was inspired by when the midwife showed the parents how the baby fit inside for nine months. Now she makes a point of asking each midwife to show parents the same thing with their new babies and also tries to convince some dads to hold their babies for the photos.
Apparently it doesn't require any special skills to hold baby in this manner, because they can do it on their own if they are held the right way.
Fermont became a mother in July, and was thrilled that her boyfriend Denny (pictured above) had no trouble holding their daughter for that all important shot.
Quotes from TODAY Parents, images by Fermont photography