Photographer captures importance of clean water in childbirth

Image: Laura El Tantawy / Water Aid

A striking outdoor multimedia exhibition by an award-winning British-Egyptian photographer in London provides a unique glimpse into the journey to motherhood, and the importance of clean water and sanitation.

WaterAid and the Wimbledon Foundation launched 'Carrying Life: Motherhood and Water in Malawi' to highlight the emotional and physical burden on women giving birth in health centres with no access to clean water, decent toilets or good hygiene. The 22-piece collection of photography and moving imagery shines a light on the stories of mothers and babies in Malawi’s Ntchisi district, who were previously impacted by dirty water, poor sanitation and a lack of hygiene in health centres.

Captured in El-Tantawy's distinctive and emotive style, these powerful photos highlight the hopes and fears of women waiting at their local ‘guardian shelter’ to give birth.

Expectant mothers, and their family member or ‘guardian’, wait at these shelters in the hospital premises, before going into labour and moving to the wards. However, until WaterAid’s intervention, with support from the Wimbledon Foundation, many of these facilities lacked the clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to give birth safely.

Enala, 19, lives near Kangolwa health centre in Malawi. She gave birth a year ago, before the centre had clean water.

She describes her experience: “My guardian had to get water from a stream so that I could bathe and clean myself after the birth. The water was dirty and not good. I could see things settling to the bottom of the bucket...I had to use the same water to drink from. We didn’t have a choice."

Through this new work, El-Tantawy not only offers an intimate insight into the lived experiences of mothers across the generations but also explores the extraordinary bond between women giving birth in such unsafe circumstances.

“I was struck by the strength of the women I met. They lived with the reality of a lack of clean water, yet they never complained about it.”

Laura El-Tantawy, photographer

“I witnessed the women in communities around Ntchisi trying to cope without water during some of the most intense moments of their lives, as they were about to give birth. But living in communities without access to clean water is a constant stress for them," explained photographer Laura El-Tantawy.

“In Carrying Life, I wanted to explore through images the emotional toll it takes on women to wake up daily and worry about where to get water; to feel the burden that your life and your family’s life is dependent on a bucket of water and its source.

“I was struck by the strength of the women I met. They lived with the reality of a lack of clean water, yet they never complained about it.

"My hope is that my photographs will help people understand the anxieties experienced by communities living without these basics, and also portray their dignity in the face of these struggles.”

"This deeply moving yet empowering collection serves not only as a rallying cry for action but also as a celebration of the bond between women as they navigate this important life stage.”

Laura Summerton, WaterAid.

Every two seconds a woman around the world gives birth in a health centre without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene – that’s a massive 16.6 million each year facing the risk of needless infections.

“By bringing Laura El-Tantawy’s formidable photos to the public’s attention, this issue can gain the attention it deserves. The result is a deeply moving yet empowering collection that serves not only as a rallying cry for action but also as a celebration of the bond between women across the generations as they navigate this important life stage,” said Laura Summerton, photography manager, WaterAid.

Carrying Life is the first photo collaboration between international charity WaterAid and its partner, the Wimbledon Foundation, which has been supporting WaterAid’s work since 2017.

Launched ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, the exhibition aims to celebrate the dignity and strength of women in Ntchisi district, Malawi, whilst also drawing attention to the stark realities that nearly one in four healthcare facilities in Malawi are without clean water on site, leaving mothers and babies at risk of deadly infections.

WaterAid has now provided these essentials in ten clinics in Ntchisi, four of which were provided with funding from the Wimbledon Foundation, official charity of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and The Championships, supporting the installation of taps and toilets. This means that women can now give birth free from the worry of infection caused by a lack of clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.

Carrying Life: Motherhood and Water in Malawi is free to the public and will be open daily at Riverside, More London, from 3 March to 14 April 2023.