Would You Wear Makeup in the Maternity Ward?
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George making their first appearance out of the hospital in 2013. (Photo: Getty)
If there ever was a time in a woman’s life when looking natural should be both accepted and applauded, it’s the tender, mind-blowing hours after delivering a baby. Or, as my friend Jess put it ever so eloquently: “No f—ing way am I applying lipstick after thirty hours of labor, having my lady parts sewn up, attempting to breastfeed, and getting used to the amazing idea that I am now a mom.”
When celebrities like Rachel Zoe and Beyoncé release perfectly-groomed images from their hospital beds, it sets an unattainable goal for the average American woman. When I give birth to my third child this coming July I can’t afford a glam squad to swoop into my hospital room and get rid of the dark smudges under my eyes, brighten my cheeks with blush, or tame my wild hair with curlers and spray. Nor would I want to plaster a fake smile on my face for a professional photographer to capture. Both of my deliveries were c-sections, and the smile I managed for the paparazzi (a.k.a. my husband) was tired, but genuine. I remember feeling grateful my son and myself had come out of the whole experience alive and healthy, and that I really, really wanted a milkshake. My makeup bag was collecting dust at home, forgotten about on my bathroom shelf.
The writer, Kate Rockland, make-up free with her baby boy. (Photo: Kate Rockland)
Why can’t we instead celebrate natural beauty? This is to say nothing of the “post-baby bikini” stories the tabloids love to run, or the Victoria’s Secret models who walk the runway weeks after delivery.
I’ll admit I loved the photo of Kate Middleton and Prince William holding baby George outside St. Mary’s hospital in July 2013. Although she had royal hairdresser Amanda Cook Tucker come to her room to perfect her sleek, feminine waves—would you expect anything less from a Duchess?—her makeup was minimal and the focus is on baby George’s sweet wrinkled face peeking out of a soft white blanket. The famously-toned Kate also received tons of praise from women everywhere for displaying her postpartum bump in her blue Jenny Packham dress.
Supermodel Molly Sims posted an adorable picture of herself with baby Scarlett on her chest back in March. While she’s clearly wearing mascara, the sunlight is streaming onto her beautiful, 41 year-old face and her hair is unfussily laying around her shoulders and hospital robe. Shot in selfie mode, the image feels all the more real.
This pressure to look perfect sometimes carries over into moms wearing makeup not just for post-delivery photos, but during actual labor. At least from what we’ve seen on TV. The Kardashians are not exactly famous for natural looks, and this carried over into the delivery room. During the episode on Keeping Up With the Kardashians when Kourtney and Scott Disick’s son Mason is born, Scott films Kourtney preparing for the hospital while in labor. “Are you nervous?” she asks him, simultaneously applying foundation and blush. “Not as nervous as I thought I would be,” he answers. “I kind of just want to get him out already.” Meanwhile, her sister Kim, who endured distasteful comments from the media about her weight gain and body throughout her pregnancy with daughter North, also had a full face of makeup on while sister Khloe filmed her in early labor. (She kept the rest of the birth private.) And on MTV’s Snooki & JWoww, Snooki was in labor with her first child Lorenzo for 27 hours, yet still managed to look camera-ready the entire time.
Some moms may argue that feeling beautiful on the outside helps their spirits. And with hospitals starting to offer “luxury birth suites” with a hefty price tag of around $4,000 a night that include mani-pedis, spa-inspired baths, massages, and professional chefs, it may not be far off into the future when hospitals begin staffing makeup and hair professionals full-time for clients who want to shell out the kind of money that would cover my mortgage for six months. Both celebrity and regular mamas get enough crap flung at them from the public when it comes to their bodies, from gaining too much weight to not gaining enough, to breast-feeding in public to innocent fashion choices like wearing high heels. So I’m not going to say you can’t throw mascara and your favorite lip-gloss into your hospital bag if it makes you happy. But you’ll be just as beautiful that day if you choose not to—post-baby glow and all.
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