The baby is coming – and mom is having her face painted. In the pressure and joy of getting glamorous before giving birth

Your due date is fast approaching, or you may even have gone into early labor. While struggling to pack a hospital bag, contact their medical teams, and take their other children to their daycare, some moms have something else on their mind: dressing up for the birth.

Recently, celebrities have revealed their own processes before having a baby. Before welcoming daughter Esti in January, Chrissy Teigen asked her Twitter followers how painful waxing “down there” is during pregnancy. When fans asked why she would bother, she wrote, “I’m trying to thwart the doctors.” And last November The hills Alum Heidi Montag posted a TikTok in which she was squeezed in a hospital glam session before giving birth to her second boy. Video showed Montag eating chips while a woman applied foundation to her face, multiple cameras locked on her. Some of the reality star’s fans called her makeup moment “sad,” while others praised her for “pushing in style.”

Both posts have raised questions about what pregnant mothers “should” be aware of and why they might try to shave, do their hair or nails, put on makeup – or not – before giving birth.

Maintaining the “bounce back” culture?

Women who worry about looking glamorous before childbirth, one of the most physically and emotionally draining moments of their lives, have a few concerns. Jenna Fletcher, a mother of four (three living) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says she’s quite opposed to it. “I feel like glamming perpetuates the idea that childbirth is something women just bounce off of. It feels like the forerunner to Instagram parenting, where everything is staged and perfect and just not real. It sugarcoats how hard and scary it can be,” she says. With perinatal mental health issues — which, according to the World Health Organization, nearly 1 in 5 women experience during pregnancy or the first year after childbirth — any additional pressure can seem out of reach. “I really think the focus should be on the health and safety of the mother and baby,” says Fletcher.

The story goes on

Additionally, the suggestion by Teigen and others that you have to shave to see a doctor is a common misconception that some doctors have tried to defend themselves against. dr Erica Montes, for example, posts on Instagram that she hears daily from patients that they’re sorry they didn’t shave, or tell her, “Don’t look at my nails.” “I want you to be comfortable with yours.” feel like you look, but to be honest, I don’t care,” says the gynaecologist.

Pastime in early labor

For other parents, some of these self-care activities can help pass the time during early labor, since the average labor activity can last 12 to 24 hours for a first birth and 8 to 10 hours for subsequent births. It’s quite a bit of time moms spend preparing at home, maybe even a bath or shower, and so daily grooming routines seem like a natural thing.

Meredith Westheimer, a mother of two from Florida, noticed her waters ruptured in the middle of the night while her husband and first son were sleeping. She took her time showering and blow drying her hair. “I used to worry when I woke up [my husband] He would take me to the hospital right away and I wanted to get ready instead,” she says. She used makeup on the way in the car so she “looked pretty” in pictures.

Famed makeup artist and mother-of-three Mally Roncal calls makeup a “huge distraction.” In addition to working with clients like Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez, Roncal has released a campaign called #LifeIsBetterWithMakeup, which spotlighted TV host and mother-to-be Stuart Brazell, who walked into the delivery room in full makeup. “I think if it’s something that fulfills you and helps you not freak out, then do it,” says Roncal.

regaining the sense of control

For some, physically preparing their bodies for childbirth is a self-care ritual that could be comforting in an otherwise out-of-control situation. “I was nervous and found that by paying attention to my appearance, I could take some control of the situation,” says Lizzie Goodman, a mother of two in Chicago, recalling how her postpartum depression and months of depression have played out Raising her first baby with colic impacted her. “I was terrified of being wide awake and willingly stepping into the room [operating room]. I also felt super guilty and sad that my eldest had to be hospitalized for a few days. The ritual of getting ready — curling my hair, applying makeup, having my sister give me a pedicure with cherry red nail polish that made me smile — gave me some freedom to think about what could go wrong and how frightening would be the road ahead of me.”

She calls the glam prep a “kind of grooming ritual I was able to do for myself — and with my sister — that helped me get back in my body and out of my anxious mind. I would be in a lot of pain and totally consumed with baby life to take care of myself like this.

The power to choose

As with any controversial topic or debate, in the end the answer is usually to do what is best for you and let others do the same without judgment.

“I’m going to be really damn honest with you — it’s all about what you want to do,” says Roncal. “The empowering part is deciding what you want to do.”

“You want to look wild? Do you want to look good in your pictures? Great,” adds the makeup artist. “But that was her choice, not someone else’s.”

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: get to know it WHO Behind huh with the Yahoo Life newsletter. Login here.