A group of mothers, their babies and mums-to-be have taken part in a photo shoot celebrating motherhood and embracing their bodies for International Women's Day.

The event in Herne Bay this afternoon was the idea of photographer Jemma Amos and it saw 13 women pose for pictures showing love for themselves and their little ones, whether newborn or on the way.

"I can't quite put into words, it was just magical," said Naomi Henwood, who took part today with her 10-month-old daughter Etta.

"I think, especially because some of the women in that room didn't actually know each other that well, it was like there was just something in the air when we did come together. It was just like magic happened.

"I can't fully describe it, but I think when you get a group of women, especially mothers who have shared a similar journey, who come together and empower each other, encourage each other, support each other, I just think we're a force to be reckoned with to be honest.

"It was incredibly empowering, it really was."

The 27-year-old make-up artist from Herne Bay said the group had broken the ice before the shoot with a shared WhatsApp group.

"We were all kind of joking, like 'blimey, I can't believe we're going to be getting in our undies'," she said.

"But once we were all together with our babies kind of looking around each other thinking, 'we made these little humans,' what our bodies look like as a result is kind of irrelevant.

"We're just so proud of what we have created, and the fact that we've all done that in the same way, in some ways it just gave us all the confidence we needed."

Ms Amos, who is from Herne Bay and runs a photography business specialising in maternity, birth and newborn shoots, is a mum-of-three and explained she was excited to celebrate women and their journey in motherhood.

The 27-year-old said: "I had a message the other day from a potential client just saying, 'I've looked at your your page and I just don't feel like I would be able to necessarily be comfortable having a photo shoot because of the way I look'.

"It really made me just take a moment to think about how actually nobody's necessarily comfortable or the most confident when they are pregnant or have just had a baby, yet it's the most special time in a woman's life.

"So I really, really wanted today to encapsulate the celebration of the pregnancy and postpartum phase of life.

"Honestly the mood in the room, you couldn't have written it. It was beautiful, really beautiful."