I guess I wasn’t the only one irritated by the reverence paid to Katie Holmes and her bump.
I don’t look to Glamour Magazine for words of wisdom, but I just read a very thoughtful article, Infertile in a Baby-Crazed World, about women, infertility, celebrity babies, and misplaced true callings:
As painful as the fuss over babies and pregnancy may be for infertile women, some experts believe it’s not good for any woman, infertile or not. For one, breathless profiles of movie-star mothers and their new tots overshadow the fact that these women have other accomplishments—you know, like Oscars and $50 million opening weekends at the movies. The message: Having a successful career is nice and all, but don’t forget your true calling…Mom!
Baby obsession isn’t healthy for mothers, either. “The ways we romanticize pregnancy only increase the postpartum hangover that is a normal but challenging part of motherhood,” says Amy Tiemann, Ph.D., a cultural critic and author of Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family. “Caught up in the frenzy, women can lose sight of the realities of what it’s like to have an infant. Reading about a Hollywood baby shower won’t prepare you for the sleepless nights and hard, physical work. The maternity marketing industry is a lot like the wedding industry, where people get so wrapped up in wedding plans that they neglect to prepare for the actual marriage.”
For the whole article, click here.