I decided it would be nice to snazz up the binder I'm using for all my midwifery materials. Classes haven't started yet, but I wanted to do something to further the process, so I got dividers and made tabs and then salvaged an old Fit Pregnancy magazine (free from the used book shop!) and tore out pictures of moms and babies and bellies and breastfeeding. It now looks like this:
On the back, I'm printing out this Wordle, which miraculously color-coordinates quite well with the sage-y green and ivory tones many of the moms on the cover are wearing. A little cheesy, I know, but it never hurts to have a little visual inspiration reminding you what you're working for day after day!
As a side note--this is really the first pregnancy magazine I've ever read, but I was honestly appalled at what a meat market it was. I'm all for naked pregnant ladies, as many of you know-- but it was strange to me how inappropriate the pictures seemed to the content. Articles whose content could have been illustrated with tasteful skin-baring were accompanied by models who were fully clothed. And concepts that had nothing to do with showing copious amounts of skin were accompanied by what looked For example, the caption on the picture at the top right of my notebook, the lady in green who's breastfeeding, said to "ditch the clothes--skin to skin is best for learning to breastfeed." Except, hey, THAT woman is wearing clothes!
And the woman below--who exercises covered up from chin to toes like that? Especially while under the heat-generating influences of pregnancy hormones!
As a side note--this is really the first pregnancy magazine I've ever read, but I was honestly appalled at what a meat market it was. I'm all for naked pregnant ladies, as many of you know-- but it was strange to me how inappropriate the pictures seemed to the content. Articles whose content could have been illustrated with tasteful skin-baring were accompanied by models who were fully clothed. And concepts that had nothing to do with showing copious amounts of skin were accompanied by what looked For example, the caption on the picture at the top right of my notebook, the lady in green who's breastfeeding, said to "ditch the clothes--skin to skin is best for learning to breastfeed." Except, hey, THAT woman is wearing clothes!
And the woman below--who exercises covered up from chin to toes like that? Especially while under the heat-generating influences of pregnancy hormones!
And this ad for a nursing bra which is also a tank top--because heaven forbid you show any SKIN while you're NURSING! It should look like you're not even doing it!
An ad for Motherhood Maternity (which sells clothing!) featured a pregnant woman in a tiny bikini with a matching purse and a pair of gold stiletto heels. (I'd love to show it to you, but I think I must have cut it up.) Kind of silly for a magazine whose tagline is "Real moms, real advice." Right. Because the real moms I know wear exactly that kind of thing.
Caption for the picture below: "Carpal tunnel syndrome can be worse at night during pregnancy."
Now is that bettered or worsened by sleeping naked?This one was about eating lots of produce...nearly nude, apparently.
She must have learned about that from this lady below, who accompanies an article about gestational diabetes, which is apparently linked to a high rate of raiding the refrigerator in your undies.
Once again...odd. I thought that the pictures that featured near-nudity, except for maybe this one below,
didn't due so to glorify pregnancy but to simulate the sexual, come-hither photos of nonpregnant women that accompany everything from exercise gear to yogurt to men's cologne. It's ridiculous, it's insulting, and it's disappointing--that even when a woman's body is in the midst of literally performing a miracle, our society is ultimately still focused not on what she can do, but simply what she looks like.
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