Birth Day: How the World Welcomes its Children

364,501 times a day, somewhere in the world, a new life begins and with it a new story. Birth Day is the round-the-world journey of a mother, photographer and journalist searching for these stories and for the answer to the questions: "Why do we bring children into the world today? What does it mean to be born in a particular place in the world? And how does the world welcome its children?

In each location Lieve Blancquaert stepped into the maternity ward and literally, into the life of the newborn baby and its family, meeting mothers during one of the most emotional events of their lives: the birth of their son or daughter.

She also talked with family members, visiting their homes, taking part in festivals and rituals, traveling to special places and events that told her more about the culture in which the child would grow up. She worked for two years on the project, visiting 14 locations around the world; experiencing and documenting an economic mix of communities, different religions and cultures.

Included in this richly diverse journey of human experience are reflections from countries as far apart as Israel, India, China, the USA, Brazil, Kenya, Cambodia and Russia.