Pregnancy pictures

It doesn’t take much to take a good picture of a pregnant woman. However, a good eye helps. In general, I think the whole image is beautiful. Period. We took the monthly (and then weekly) ones of me when I was pregnant, but just of the belly. Now, they’re in a scrapbook so you can see how my daughter grew inside me. None, however, that invoke the inward, dreamy feeling you may feel or the closeness you feel to your partner. I know it’s idyllic. I’ll be making a point soon. I like the pictures we have. They work for my tastes.

My advice to you, take the pictures. Even if you’re not feeling great about how well your skin can stretch in those last couple of months. Or if your feet swell up. Or you’re tired. Or you’re tired. Or just plain tired. And out of it.

Here’s my point. On one hand, I think our society would do well to see pregnancy as a normal function of the body, not a “condition” that you have to be careful of that leads to a technical emergency. That reality might resonate back to pregnant women who would then be more active in pregnancy (in Holland, midwives recommend pregnant women to bike throughout pregnancy- see the current issue of Mothering magazine) and have wonderfully simple labors at home without the need for the reassurance of the beep of the fetal monitor or the drip of the IV. It might even help us see breastfeeding as another normal part of being a mother, not as exposing ourselves to others.

Most women having healthy pregnancies end up in birthing situations that they would even deem as scary or at the least end up in a scene where they have little to no say in how the birth takes place. The empowerment of having more information is just one step toward greater change in how our society views and supports pregnant women.

But let’s be light-hearted again… Take pictures of that lovely belly of yours, or your sisters’ or your friends’.

How about this? If you have an eye for photography and a decent camera and are wanting to give a special present to a pregnant friend, offer to take pictures of her and frame the best ones. You might even decide to get crafty and try something like this out with the pictures you take.