Maternity

For this series, James Clifford Kent returned to the London hospital where his daughter was born during the pandemic, documenting life at the Queen Mary Maternity Unit at West Middlesex University Hospital, part of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. For several weeks, Kent shadowed staff – including midwives, nurses & doctors – and discovered inspirational stories told by diverse members of NHS staff supporting expectant families. Inspired by American photographer W. Eugene Smith’s seminal Life magazine essay “Nurse Midwife” (1951) – depicting the work of African American midwife Maude E. Callen in rural South Carolina – Kent uses black-and-white imagery to capture the drama of a modern-day maternity unit, sharing stories of hope, resilience and new beginnings.

For this series, photographer James Clifford Kent returned to the London hospital where his daughter was born during the pandemic, documenting life at the Queen Mary Maternity Unit. Over several weeks, he followed the dedicated NHS staff—midwives, nurses, and doctors—and captured inspiring stories of their work supporting expectant families. Drawing inspiration from W. Eugene Smith's famous 1951 photo essay on midwifery, Kent used black-and-white photography to highlight the drama and humanity of modern-day maternity care, focusing on themes of hope, resilience, and new beginnings.