I recently saw some labour photography of a woman, while in early labour, dressing into her favourite lingerie, applying a bright red lippy and rocking some major bling. It reminded me of when a friend of mine was going in for a scheduled cesarean and she got her nails and makeup done beforehand and walking in to that birth it made her feel nice. It surprised me and made me smile and it then it got me thinking…
Why don’t more women dress up for our labour and births?
Ok, so I know the answer you will all give me but before getting all practical on me, just stop for a minute and think about it, any other monumental moment in your life that you are expecting / anticipating, most people would make a little effort and dress up for that moment.
Birthdays, weddings, (proposals) anniversary, graduations, school formals, first dates, first day of school, interview, family photo shoot…..we usually put a lot of thought in to these moments and what it will feel/look like in our mind is often closely associated with what we look like in real life. So how come when it comes to one of, if not THE most significant day of our lives as women, we put on the slumpiest thing we can reach and call it a day.
I know, I know, it gets messy in that labour room and maybe its not practical, and for a lot of women they don’t stay dressed for too long anyway BUT I think its a fun thought, pop on your prettiest knickers, maybe grandmas pearls and a bit of lippy, do your hair and frolic in the moment a little before you get into the nitty gritty of it.
Or maybe, if I get philosophical for a moment, we are at our most beautiful in that moment because it is all stripped away. Natural face, hubbies old oversized tee, as comfortable as you feel with him, hair in no particular style at all. One of the rare times as a woman, we can feel like a goddess without making any effort at all to look like one.
Well, that’s my musings for the day, whichever way you decide to show up to your birth; OWN it!
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