The photo has been viewed more than 11.5million times (Picture: Facebook/Helen Aller Photography)

A photograph in which a newborn baby lies next to its mother’s c-section scar has taken the internet by storm.

Helen Aller, 29, took a black and white photo of the baby and its unidentified mother, who said that the procedure saved both their lives.

But Helen did not predict what would happen when she shared it on her Facebook page.

The image has been viewed more than 11.5million times and liked by nearly 200,000 people.


‘I photographed this mama’s pregnancy a while back and she was telling me how terrified she was of having a c-section,’ she said.

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‘Last week she went into labour but had to have an emergency c-section after complications.

‘She asked me to come over and shoot this particular image as her worst nightmare proved to be what saved her and her child’s lives.’

The image seemed to have struck a chord with millions round the globe.

Helen is herself eight months pregnant, and she says that the appeal of the image to her is the contrast between struggle and beauty.

She said mothers have contacted her to say that the photo has helped them come to terms with their own c-section scars.

‘I’m not a huge fan of having a scar across my lower abdomen, but I’ve learned to embrace it because that is where my babies came from,’ one mother said.