A breathtaking image of a mother's c-section scar has gone viral after it was posted on Facebook - and has amassed over 227,000 likes.
The picture was taken three days after the mum (who wished not to be named) had to have an emergency caesarean due to complications during the birth.
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Photographer Helen Aller decided to post the picture on Facebook to show how something awful turned into something positive by saving both mummy and baby's lives.
She wrote, 'I photographed this mama's pregnancy a while back and she was telling me how terrified she was of having a c-section. Well last week she went into labour but had to have an emergency c-section after complications. She asked me to come over this morning and shoot this particular image as her worst nightmare proved to be what saved her and her child's lives.'
EDIT: I didn't expect this image to reach so far. I understand everyone has their own opinion which they are entitled...
Posted by Helen Carmina Photography on Tuesday, 11 August 2015
Helen, who herself is pregnant, wanted to show that scars are nothing to be ashamed of.
Since then, the picture has received over 30,000 comments. Naturally, there have been some negative ones, with some people saying they didn't want to see that sort of thing on their feed, but the rest have been overwhelmingly positive.
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Helen said, 'To me it's a beautiful image that shows both a struggle and something beautiful. I have received so so many stories from c-section mums saying how it has changed the way they look at their scars.
'I can't believe the amount of women that are ashamed of their scars and are made to feel like they haven't done the job properly because they didn't give birth naturally.
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'I feel proud that an image I created has allowed so many people to open up about their experiences and change the way they feel about something they should only feel pride for.'