There is no posing during a birth. Birth photography is the ultimate in documentary storytelling, and there are so many aspects you can capture. It’s all about the small details, and emotions, the pained expressions, the laughter between contractions, the emotional text messages received. The supportive partner, the shoulder massages, holding hands and leaning on each other for support.

They say mothers are made to forget the pain of childbirth so that they’re willing to do it over again. If that’s the case, then why do these birth photos cause all of those emotions — from intense pain to immense joy — to come flooding back to the surface in the most beautiful way possible?

From all-natural home births to hospital deliveries, Vigos has captured amazing birth stories, whether it’s a surrogate delivering twins for an expectant couple to a baby born inside its amniotic sac. Here, a collection of her finest work that is sure to leave you wishing you could go back to the day when your own birth story was in the making.

Today, a quick search of the hashtags #birthisbeautiful or #birthwithoutfear bring up hundreds of images of babies making their entrance into this world. To demonstrate the importance of documenting the moment, we’ve gathered over 30 of the most beautiful birth photographs from some of our favorite photographers. Visit this page to view them all (and be sure to have some tissues handy).