Mums Not the Word

British photographer Denise Felkin has launched an ambitious project to "debate the social stigmatisation of women, who, by choice or for medical reasons, go against the instinct of childbirth and maternal productivity."

To do so, Ms. Felkin is photographing women who are childless by choice or by chance in the fetal position, reversing the well-known image of an unborn child.

The project is titled "Mum's Not the Word."

Ms. Flekin explained,

"I create these images to challenge the negative attitudes within society towards people without children and to share stories of birth control, choice, freedom, regret and pain. I recruit participants through word of mouth and social media.

"I ask them bring along their duvet cover and I shoot from above and in natural light. My subjects come from all walks of life – professionals, artists; a few have mental health issues or disabilities; some have fragile relationships with their birth mothers. A couple of the participants also identify as other than heterosexual."

After collecting at least 60 photos (she has 24 as of this writing), Ms. Felkin plans to publish the images in a book. The exhibit was shortlisted in the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards,World Gala 9th Pollux Awards, Photography Magazine Grant, and the 2017 Julia Margaret Cameron Award and the National (UK) Open Art competition.

Click here to see more Mum's Not the Word photos and check out the project's Facebook page.. If you're interested in participating, and you can get to Ms. Felkin's Central Brighton studio in England, drop her a line at denisefelkin@hotmail.com.

(Image Credits: Denise Felkin)