Birthing in the Bush
The isolation and the joy of motherhood in the remote community of Woorabinda, Queensland.Words & Photography: Jessica HowardTyanna McInnerney strokes her round belly in the subconscious way expectant mothers do. She's 24 weeks pregnant when we meet - a little way behind me. "I'm starting to struggle on my feet," I tell her. I'm 30-weeks along and feel like I'm wearing concrete shoes. She laughs, "Not me."
The midwife later says Tyanna visits the clinic every week to hear her baby's heartbeat, even when she only needs monthly appointments.It's been two and a half years since we met, and I call Tyanna to check in."I found (being pregnant) so lovely," she says. "Having a baby inside of me, a little human being. It was so precious." Her girl Jennifer is two now and has a sister Kija, 10 months."They're really close. I didn't think Kija would react to her sister, but she loves her. When Jennifer comes into Kija's room in the morning, they're sohappy to see each other." Tyanna works in the baby room of the community childcare centre so she can be close to Kija, who she still breastfeeds.
Woorabinda is an Aboriginal community 170 kilometres south-west ofRockhampton in Central Queensland. Tyanna, now 23, is one of a handful of women I captured there as part of a photographic series on motherhood.During my pregnancy, I became interested in what having a baby meant for women living outside my privileged cocoon