WARNING: This report contains some graphic content, reader discretion is advised.
This is the remarkable moment a mother reached into her own body and delivered her twins during a caesarean section.
Gerri Wolfe gave birth to her 10th and 11th children Violet and Matilda on 22 December at a hospital in New South Wales, Australia.
The hands-on mother told Huffington Post UK: “It was a very rewarding experience. Once I learnt that I couldn't have a natural birth and the girls needed to be born sooner rather than later, I thought about how I could turn a surgical procedure into a birth.
Scroll down for more pictures of the birth
“I had worked damn hard for my two previous births, a hospital vba4c (vaginal birth after four c-sections) and then a hba4c (homebirth after four c-sections) a year later, so I was devastated to learn that I'd need to undergo a fifth c-section and I needed to make it a close to a natural birth feeling as I could.
“I was very nervous on the day, about the actual c-section more so than about how it would be performed. But I was excited to meet my girls.
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“The whole experience felt quite personal and I was treated with respect from the theatre staff, rather than as just another c-section patient.
“The procedure was the same as a regular c-section, until I was told to reach out for my baby. The doctor delivered her up to her shoulders, then I grabbed her from there. I had a little help for my second twin as she was breech. It was a beautiful moment.
Wolfe was able to participate in the delivery by agreeing not to touch anything or move so she remained completely sterile throughout the procedure.
She added: “I'm very surprised at the reaction to my photos and story. When I originally shared my photo on a Facebook births page it was to encourage women to make informed, empowered birth choices instead of being passive bystanders.”
The 41-year-old decided to make a stand on the matter when she was told the babies would have to be delivered at 36 weeks after a complication arose.
Photographer Simone Harvey said she was flattered to be invited to share such a person, intimate moment but that “the photographer’s goal needed to be as unobtrusive as possible.”
