The team has two photographers at the hospital for the purpose
| Photo Credit: BabyTrails
An anxious father-to-be paces up and down the hospital corridor. He is surrounded by relatives, but in reality, is alone in dealing with the immensity of the moment. After all, it is his life that is about to change. The video captures his nerve-wracking moments, leading up to absolute joy and tears in his eyes when he meets his baby girl for the first time in front of the labour ward. Shot by Coimbatore-based BabyTrails Photography that does baby, toddler, maternity, and family shoots, the video is part their latest offering.
The company, that was started in 2014 by partners Sarvina and Anu, has recently launched a new service: New born Fresh 48 Hours Photography. They have tied up with Kovai Medical Center and Hospital in the city, where they have a dedicated space at the gynaecology ward. “I wish I got to see my husband Venkat pacing nervously outside as he awaited the birth of our son Nikith,” says Sarvina, adding that it is this dream that took the shape of their latest venture.
The baby seen in the hospital cradle.
| Photo Credit:
BabyTrails
As part of the offering, the team has two photographers documenting the first 48 hours of a baby’s birth. This is done in two stages: the first being photos of families waiting outside, the precious moment the new born is first brought to meet its father, sibling, and grandparents; the second one being shots of mother, father, and baby by the hospital bed and cradle once they have settled in, as well as video documentation on request. Couples get to choose either one or can sign up for both stages. Hospital photography is not entirely new to the team — they did around ten shoots at a maternity hospital in the city from 2016 to 2017.
“Back then, this was still something new in Coimbatore,” says Anu. They eventually focussed on doing shoots within the sanitised space of their studio, taking photos of babies as young as seven days old. But their latest collaboration with KMCH has given them the chance to document over 25 birth stories in the first month of the launch.
“A mother never forgets her baby’s birth story,” says Anu. But her version features only herself and her baby, beeping labour ward monitors, hurried instructions from nurses and doctors, and moments of panic before the unbridled joy when she receives her baby in her arms. “She never gets to see what happens outside the labour room,” she adds. “The raw emotions in the faces of her loved ones — we want to document all of that.” This, she says, will be a “beautiful memory for the mother, the child, and the entire family for years to come.”
The baby’s first day at the hospital
| Photo Credit:
BabyTrails
The experience so far, she says, has been rewarding. “Every parent is different,” she notes, adding that there have been instances when their team has waited along with the family from 8pm to 4am the next day to document a natural birth. Photographer Anu Bharathi, who is part of the team, says that she gets so involved in the process that she waits with bated breath for the big announcement: whether it is a boy or girl. “Only photos can do justice to the emotions of the family members,” she says.
The hospital corridor, where families await news of the new-born
| Photo Credit:
BabyTrails
To sign up, couples are free to walk into their space at KMCH. “We brief them on what we do, assuring them that the wellness of the mother and baby is most important,” explains Anu. The first few months of her child’s birth can be a hazy memory for the mother; one filled with sleepless nights and getting used to the task of caring for a being that is entirely dependent on her.
“We can make tangible memories for her, of the calm and the chaos of the first 48 hours of birth, the sibling’s first touch, and more,” she adds. Photos from the series feature babies with paper-like skin, wrapped in swaddles in the hospital cradle. An exhausted, but happy mother smiles into her baby’s face, and in another one, both parents look on at the miracle they created together.
For details, visit them on Instagram @babytrailsphotography.
Published – September 08, 2025 12:27 pm IST