I am not on Facebook, and don’t have any plans to create an account. This, of course, means I am out of the loop about certain events and incidents, especially since I have a number of friends who communicate exclusively via Facebook.
Prime example: One of my childhood friends from Hawaii recently gave birth to a baby boy. Whereas I heard (via telephone) from another friend that my pal had a natural birth and the baby was in good health, I had no clue what Junior and his mom looked like post-birth because I was not able to view the shots posted on Facebook.
At the risk of sounding like a non-Facebook snob (I would have no problem creating an account if there were 30 hours in a day), there’s no way I would have posted photos of myself in the minutes following my 21-hour labor for all of cyberworld to see. My face was the size of a watermelon; my hair looked like a witch’s wig; and my skin looked like a Survivor contestant’s on Day 40.
So, imagine my shock when I recently learned that millions of moms-to-be plan their births to accommodate Facebook. According to Parenting magazine, since more and more birth announcements are being sent via social networking sites, instead of the USPS, moms make sure they are photo ready prior to pushing out Junior.
To ensure a Facebook-friendly photo some women are getting their hair and make-up done in the hospital and donning designer birthing gowns, so they can look good when the paparazzi of friends and family take aim for pictures that will be automatically uploaded to their respective Facebook pages within minutes of the baby’s birth.
Modern day electronic baby announcements make it hard for mom to look schlumpy during her shining moment. When you have techno-gadgets that instantly stream pictures and video, you want to be prepared, according to the moms who confessed to the magazine that they primped hard before giving birth.
For women with scheduled C-sections, getting dolled up for delivery is becoming second nature. Nurses say they have seen a dramatic increase in the number of ladies coming in with professional manicures and pedicures (think baby blue or pretty pink nails with little rattles, pacifiers and bows painted on them), special wax jobs, and stylish hairdos.
Just so they can look good in their post-birth Facebook photos? Whatever happened to natural births? As in no make-up, hair in a pony, and nails chewed down to the skin.
Would you consider going glam for labor and delivery?
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