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Live From the Maternity Ward: Birthing Moms Are Primping for Photos
Filed under: Funny Stuff, Delivery
Pedicure? Check. Teeth whitening? Check. Hospital bag? Oh, yeah ... Credit: Getty Images
When Lyn Zelnis was packing her hospital bag for the birth of her second baby, she made sure to include shower supplies, onesies and perhaps most important -- mascara, styling mousse, lipstick and a bronzer. Plus, she booked a pedicure right before her due date.Of course the St. Louis mom of two was focused on the pending miracle of childbirth, but she also learned (the painful way) during her older son's birth, the importance of primping for the big day.
"Push and smile" has become the mantra of baby mamas, who find their post labor selves splashed across the pages of Facebook or live on YouTube. In this era of instantaneous photo spreads, labor and delivery rooms are being transformed into photography studios, according to an article on Boston.com.
In 2010, that means lining up a pediatrician, readying the bassinette -- and, for some moms, making a hair appointment, getting a mani-pedi, and buying flattering hospital johnnies, Boston.com reports.
The attention to every detail -- hair, nails, makeup, oh and of course, mom and baby's home-from-the-hospital attire, underscores a larger trend of scheduled births, including planned caesareans and elective inductions, says Dr. William Camann, director of the obstetric anesthesia service at Brigham and Women's Hospital to Boston.com.
"It's not just planning the birth,'' Camann, coauthor of "Easy Labor," tells Boston.com, "but planning everything that goes along with the birth, which includes looking good for the pictures.''
Abigail Tuller, editor in chief of Pregnancy and Mom magazine, tells Boston.com the uptick in grooming is part of a societal shift.
"The boundaries of the birthing room are being expanded,'' she says. "People are Facebooking from the delivery room, they're doing live feeds of their birth, and they're texting during labor. We live in the information age, and everyone wants their information out there. You need to look good.''
For sure, no baby mama wants a picture of herself sweaty, exhausted and in desperate need of a makeover. Just ask Zelnis.
"Well Facebook happened a couple years after my first birthing experience," Zelnis tells ParentDish. But right after 26 hours of labor and a C-section during the birth of her son Luke, who is almost 6, Zelnis was being wheeled to her room when cameras lights started flashing.
"I was exhausted, looked disgusting with my hair sweaty and on top of my head in a ponytail," Zelnis tells ParentDish."I was swollen and had bags under my eyes. As they wheeled me up to my room they informed me that News Channel 5 was waiting to interview me because the hospital nurses went on strike during my surgery.
"So as I am trying to nurse Luke for the first time, and in walks this famous newscaster for the St. Louis local network with a bright light and a camera in my face. Hello, a little embarrassing! When it came to Carter, (her second son, age 3) I had a pedicure and a little makeup on," Zelnis adds to ParentDish.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
11-17-2010 @ 9:28AM
PJ said..."Push and smile" has become the mantra of baby mamas"
BABY MAMA'S???? What has happened to the English language? I suggest if you don't the correct way to say it then you shouldn't be a "BABY MAMA" GEEEESH!! You might as well say "Who da baby daddy"? too.
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11-17-2010 @ 9:37AM
Amber said...Seriously? There's no way the majority of birthing mothers out there are more concerned about a shiny nose than having a safe delivery. "Doctor, before I push I have to freshen up my mascara!" I can understand a little pampering (mani and pedi) before the birth, but this stuff about being coiffed DURING the delivery (scoff). This falls under the "Give me a BREAK!" category.
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11-17-2010 @ 9:37AM
Linda said...WOW - "VANITY VANITY ALL IS VANITY" (Song of Solomon) NOW, tell me, is this for a week in the hospital? Or is this for the usual "push and go" 24 hour service that the hospitals are providing these days? --- Too bad the mommies have forgotten that the tears being shed in the delivery room aren't for her but for the bloody, cheese covered baby that has entered the world - and that Daddy and family stand in awe over...
Mother of 4
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11-17-2010 @ 10:14AM
ajschrod said...Who ever thought of taking pictures in a delivery room should be boiled in oil--in fact I'll go even farther: the baby's father shouldn't be in there either, because it's NOT a pretty sight no matter how "intimate" you try to make it!
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11-17-2010 @ 10:34AM
Angiebaby said...I don't see what the big deal is. Since giving birth in a hospital has essentially become a drive-thru experience, who cares what takes place at the nonbusiness end of the mother? Certainly the doctors don't, so that makes it simply a mother's choice of what to do cosmetically after the birth of a child. As for a mani, pedi or both before the birth of a child? I say go for it. It's the last time you'll get to do anything of the sort for yourself until the child goes to school.
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11-17-2010 @ 11:05AM
Diane said...If you look good, you feel good. Nothing is wrong with that. I made sure I felt and looked good before I went to the hospital to be induced. First thing they said when I got to the Labor Room????
Take a Shower!
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11-17-2010 @ 11:28AM
T said...The last thing I thought about was make-up after 36 hours of labor.
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11-17-2010 @ 12:39PM
MommaKat said...So a news anchor with camera person in tow just suddenly walks into your private room uninvited? I find that VERY hard to believe. If the nurses went on strike then the news crews shouldn't have even been allowed into the birthing center or ANY part of the houspital. With all the serious viruses and infections going around, the last thing I would allow is some primped out newzy into my room when I have an open wound and a new baby. Lady, you must have had to have said, "Sure, why not?" Birthing is for one reason and one reson alone: bring that child into the world safely and cleanly and not flash it on Facebook and YouTube! GAWD!!
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11-17-2010 @ 12:00PM
dugandob said...Good Grief, this is absolutely ridiculous. I'm so sick of instant every thing. Give me a break while I'm having my baby. I don't want to worry if I have my hair sticking straight up, and my face all sweaty. Take a picture of the baby, but leave me alone for at least 24 hours. I remember when I was having my 3rd child, it was so different. The room was a beautiful suite, my fist child I shared a room with another mother in labor. Having a room to myself actually was nice. But I didn't want the whole family in there. For my husband an I we just wanted it to be ourselves during labor. It's difficult enough without having to entertain.
I do have pictures of me holding all our girls right after they were born, and it looks like I had just gone through labor, not like I had just taken a walk in the park.
Labor is exactly what the word means. LABOR!!!
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11-17-2010 @ 12:15PM
lively said...how completely narcissistic! What a shallow generation of "parents" I see on the horizon! Boy, you better make sure that your kid understands that they are NOT the priority here, but how good mom looks is the main story. I pity these babies growing up, having to know that mom's nails are more important than, say, the 2 o'clock feeding. (After all, can't get up at 2 am to feed the baby, because then I'll have BAGS under my eyes...gasp!!!) You people don't need/want babies, you want little "accessories". Go get a damn purse poodle...at least they are used to being ignored for the self centered desires of their owners
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11-17-2010 @ 1:09PM
trish said...The thought of having a camera in the delivery room is just disgusting...as far as I'm concerned there's TOO many strangers in that room tobegin with and then a camera...where is modesty now-a-days??
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11-17-2010 @ 1:55PM
yvette said...i had a c section in august after 25 hours labor. At the end from the drugs I was given I was mostly sleeping. Now when I see the pictures I wish someone would have brushed my hair!!!! Now I get to look back on pictures of my hair sticking up and all my relatives took pictures of that!!! And that isnt vainty, anyone who has had knots in their hair can relate to what it is like to finally brush them out!!!
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11-17-2010 @ 1:27PM
Carrie-Lee said...I posed for plenty of photos after the birth of my children.... AFTER I had had several hours to relax, enjoy the baby, SHOWER and freshen up. By then I was plenty ready for visitors & photos.
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11-17-2010 @ 1:40PM
Lynnie said...This is not new. I've been doing L&D for several years now and when a mommy knows she will be delivering soon, she'll do a quick spruce-up if she has the chance. I'll do a quick smooth and tuck on her hair if it looks too unruly. Also, I remember painting my toes as I got closer to my due date, thinking if I was going to have my feet in the air, they needed to be presentable. Many of my patients must think the same thing, as I see a lot of nice pedi's.Complimenting their pedi is a good icebreaker, too.
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11-17-2010 @ 2:02PM
Dee Howard said...God bless these poor little babies who are being born to such self centered mothers.
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11-17-2010 @ 2:18PM
JudeThom said...This is disgusting, really.
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11-17-2010 @ 2:20PM
JudeThom said...What about crotch shaving? Waxing? Vaginal perfume sprays?
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11-17-2010 @ 2:21PM
Judethom said...Meanwhile, three blocks away at the local abortion clinic, "abortion on demand" babies are being thrown into a dumpster.
Lipstick anyone?
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11-17-2010 @ 8:00PM
Anne said...How totally disgusting and narcissistic............puleeze..........a newborn baby, and she allowed a reporter in her room to take pictures............get a grip............worry about your baby getting an infection, not your hair and makeup.......what is this world coming to. Shut off your phones and get real.
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