A photo essay by Brazilian photographer João Linneu documents the premature birth of his son Valentín in São Paulo in 2014-15, capturing the fear, isolation and uncertainty faced by him and his partner Fernanda Fajardo. The images, part of a project titled JJ VFF VV, trace the couple's journey from a high-risk pregnancy through emergency delivery, weeks of separation while Valentín was cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit, and the eventual return home. The series offers a rare intimate record of an experience many parents endure largely unseen, highlighting the emotional toll of restrictive hospital rules during a medical crisis.

Fernanda, then 36 and pregnant for the first time, began bleeding early on and was told to stay in bed for the rest of the pregnancy. Valentín was born by caesarean section weighing just 1.32kg, and strict hospital policy – including a ban on photography in the NICU – meant the couple had to take pictures secretly and were often kept apart from their son and each other for hours or days at a time. The photographs also show Valentín's repeated apnoea episodes, Fernanda's difficulties expressing milk while separated from him, and João's account of photographing lightning storms from home during lonely nights while his partner remained in hospital.