Your Epidermis is Showing!

While we do not all look like Miranda Kerr, pregnant or not, some of us choose to get nude pictures taken when we are pregnant because we have newfound sense of sex appeal. To those of you who feel like this, we applaud you! We agree that women look gorgeous when they are expecting however, more often than not, women feel a little self concious about their bodies when they are pregnant.

Because of the Hollywood influence, a lot of women feel the need to remain slim when pregnant and find it difficult to maintain a "healthy" perspective of pregnancy. Given that Hollywood idealizes maternity weight gain in such an unnatural manner, we understand why this poses a challange.

In the old days, women were encouraged to gorge and were expected to gain a ton of weight when pregnant;they were even allowed to keep the weight on post partum. However, nowadays there is an unspoken pressure for women to be thin while pregnant and to lose the weight fast post partum. This shift in perception is both unnatural and unhealthy.

Being health concious and feeling pressure to stay slim while pregnant are two very different things. In fact studies show that as many as 1 in 20 moms to be suffer from eating disorders. This number is alarmingly high given that the risks and consequences effect both the mom and the baby.

Being pregnant means having to come terms with baby weight gain and a new silhouette and this can be difficult to bare. Of course, we were are not all supermodels or celebrities to begin with, but seeing sleek bumps such as Miranda's, can result in feeling pressure to look a certain way. While Ms. Kerr was most likely born with this type of figure (and might have had some airbrushing), we want to remind everyone that we are all born with our own special bodies and our bodies acclimate to change in a variety of ways. While we all want to look great and feel great when pregnant, the need to feed your body and soul is imperative at this time. Therefore, if you or someone you know is feeling body concious at this time, we encourage you to get support.

We think that it is fantastic to feel confident in your skin when pregant and if you are feeling sexy and want to have a nude photo taken to commemorate this time, that is fantastic! However, we think that it is equally important to recognize that not all women feel overly confident with their new bodies. We know it is not easy, but we want to help you alleviate the negatives of this change and start thinking about some positives. To help you , here just a few of the positive perks that pregnancy brings:

• Gorgeous Hair- as hormones kick in, they will actually nourish your hair and make it silky and fabulous!
• Glowing Skin- no, it's not a old wives tale-the increase in blood flow actually gives your complexion a rosy glow
• Fabulous Cleavage- you've got boobs that most women dream of! Pregnancy can increase your breast size by one or two cup sizes- the more cleavage, the merrier!
• Longer Nails- if you are used to acrylics, you will particularly enjoy this perk because pregnancy causes fingernails to grow faster than normal!
• Sexy Curves- the bump brings a new silhouette to the body and this makes a lot of men gaga...

Be strong. Stay confident and remember you are beautiful.

Have a wonderful day~

xoxo.

The Moody Mamas