A new mum has revealed how she did her maternity photoshoot in hospital after unexpectedly giving birth.
Jackie Kunzelman27, from Arizona, gained viral success after sharing a TikTok clip from her maternity photo session, in which she struck a pose on top of the hospital bed while she was in labor.
The video has been viewed more than 15.6 million times as the mother-of-one – who recently gave birth to her son Rocky – shared a behind-the-scenes look at the emergency room photo shoot.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, the 27-year-old new mother shared the process of how she ended up getting dolled up and in a full dress during labor.
Jackie Kunzelman, 27, from Arizona, has revealed she held her maternity photoshoot in the hospital after unexpectedly giving birth
She gained viral success after sharing a TikTok clip from her maternity photo session, in which she posed on the hospital bed while in labor
The video has been viewed more than 15.6 million times as the mother-of-one – who recently gave birth to her son Rocky – shared a behind-the-scenes look at the emergency room photoshoot.
She captioned the viral clip, “Personal opinion: The baby comes early so you take your maternity pics at the hospital.
‘Textbook definition of iconic.’
In the video, she showed herself posing in front of the hospital curtain, on a bed, and even shared a look at how her family had decorated the room to give her the most glamorous birth yet.
Jackie also shared footage of the nurse’s reaction, who couldn’t help but laugh.
She revealed that although she didn’t plan to take her maternity photos while she was in the hospital, she didn’t really prioritize the shoot and realized it was too late when she started feeling the contractions.
The mother-of-one explained to DailyMail.com: ‘I definitely wasn’t planning a photoshoot in the hospital.’
She also revealed that both her mother and her sister, Lexi, were both photographers, so she knew the photos had to be special.
“I’m a medical student and had rotations scheduled until my due date, so between the chaos of pregnancy and school, I couldn’t prioritize the shoot enough,” Jackie added.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, the 27-year-old new mother revealed how she ended up dressed up and in a full dress during labor
In the video, she showed herself posing in front of the hospital curtain, on a bed, and even shared a look at how her family had decorated the room to give her the most glamorous birth yet.
She revealed that while she didn’t plan on taking her maternity photos while she was in the hospital, she didn’t really prioritize the shoot.
“They both texted me almost every day asking if I had ordered a dress and when it would arrive so we could finally get our long-awaited maternity photos!”
Jackie even said that her mother and Lexi foreshadowed the event when they warned her that if she delayed it any longer, the baby would be born.
“They warned me that if I waited long enough, the baby would eventually come and we would completely miss the opportunity,” she added.
And while the shoot was a light-hearted affair, the 27-year-old said the moments leading up to it were some of the most stressful times of her life.
She explained that on the day of her baby shower, she was 36 weeks pregnant and immediately noticed something was wrong.
‘On the day of my baby shower, when I was 36 weeks pregnant, I started noticing swelling in my hands, face and feet. The next day we took my blood pressure at home and found it was elevated, almost 160/110, and rushed to obstetric triage, where I was admitted to the high-risk labor ward with preeclampsia,” Jackie told DailyMail.com.
‘I was given steroids to help the baby’s lungs develop in preparation for early delivery and was placed on hospital bed rest with continued monitoring of the fetus’s blood pressure and heart sounds until a planned induction at 37 weeks. ‘
Jackie even said that her mother and Lexi foreshadowed the event when they warned her that if she delayed it any longer, the baby would be born.
She explained that on the day of her baby shower, she was 36 weeks pregnant and immediately noticed something was wrong
And just as fate would have it, the day before she was to be induced for her C-section, her maternity photoshoot dress arrived.
But because her baby’s heart rate dropped every time she had a contraction, she became concerned that he “wouldn’t tolerate the labor.”
‘I was worried about my baby and wanted him out. For three days, I stared at the monitors from my hospital bed day and night, watching his heart rate,” Jackie admitted.
And as fate would have it, her maternity photo dress arrived the day before she was to be induced.
Then her glam team went to work and surprised her with the news that the photo shoot was happening right then.
“My mom and sister came to see me at the hospital with makeup, curling irons and nail polish and said we were going to get that maternity photo shoot,” Jackie told DailyMail.com.
Lexi and her mother provided the backdrop using the hospital shower curtain and “turned on the spotlights in the delivery room.”
‘They did my hair, nails and make-up while I stayed tethered to all the monitors in bed. We worked around pulse oximeters, fetal monitors and IVs,” she explained.
“Our goal was to take all the pictures within ten minutes so that the baby wouldn’t disappear from the monitors for longer than normal.”
And after ten minutes the nurse came back into the room and set up the monitors.
Lexi, her mother and Jackie’s husband provided the backdrop using the hospital shower curtain and ‘turned on the spotlights in the delivery room’
Jackie also revealed that the nurse had a great attitude about her impromptu photo shoot
Jackie noted that although it was stressful the next day as she prepared for her C-section, she was happy to finally meet her son.
Jackie said that although the next day was stressful as she prepared for her C-section, she was happy that she and her family had a positive evening and that she would finally meet her son.
Exactly after ten minutes the nurse came in and helped set up all the monitors again.
Jackie also revealed that the nurse had a great attitude towards her impromptu photo shoot, adding: ‘My nurse was very attentive! She noticed the baby wasn’t on the monitor and quickly came in to check on us.
‘She didn’t expect to experience a full-on photo shoot! She laughed and kindly plugged all the monitors back in to check on the baby.
‘I owe (my positivity to) the fun evening with my family where everyone did their best to capture the beauty of my pregnancy before it ended so unexpectedly. I was ready to meet my son!’
Jackie said she planned to make her maternity photo shoot more of a priority in the future before she gave birth.