23 Incredible Photos That Show How a Child Is Born

In 1965, Swedish photojournalist Lennart Nilsson published the photographic book, A Child is Born, which captures every stage of development of an unborn child. In his book, he writes, “…The whole story does not begin with delivery. The baby has existed for months before – at first signaling its presence only with small outer signs, later on as a somewhat foreign little being which has been growing and gradually affecting the lives of those close by.”

Nilsson got his most precise shots with the help of a cystoscope — a medical instrument which is used to examine the inside of the urinary bladder. He attached a camera together with a tiny light to it, and took thousands of photos recording the life of the embryo in its mother’s womb.

Nilsson’s photos became icons because they weren’t the typical blurry black and white scans. They were detailed and colored images of unborn life.