'Mombod' Comic Shows What Pregnancy Is Really Like
Toronto-based artist Rebecca Roher created a comic about pregnancy and childbirth. (Photo: Rebecca Roher)
Artist Rebecca Roher wanted to show others what pregnancy and childbirth were really like, and as an illustrator, the best way she knew how was to draw it — in a comic strip.
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When a friend got pregnant, Roher became interested in the changes her body was going through so she started asking questions. “We’re very close, and we’re pretty candid with each other,” Roher tells Yahoo Parenting.
(Photo: Rebecca Roher)
“I was really struck by the emotional roller coaster she was going through during postpartum,” Roher adds. So when GUTS Magazine, a Canadian feminist magazine, asked her to make a comic for Mother’s Day, Roher knew what story she wanted to tell.
And so she created Mom Body, a comic that explores the physical changes that occur with pregnancy and birth.
(Photo: Rebecca Roher)
The end product encompasses her friend’s three-day labor and the emotional days afterward. “Women don’t talk about difficult experiences with labor and childbirth, especially their postpartum feelings,” Roher said. “I think there is a bit of shame about it.”
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Roher is not disclosing her friend’s identity, but says the new mom has received lots of positive feedback from her community. And the comic has helped her recover from her trauma. “I wanted to give her a gift,” Roher says. “It was my way of supporting her.”
(Photo: Rebecca Roher)
“I want to promote empathy for women’s bodies and an appreciation for our incredible ability,” says Roher. “Women, as a concept, are the carriers of new generations.”
She also hopes that people will understand the reality of giving birth and make thoughtful decisions about having children. “It’s not easy,” she says. “It’s not just a given that every woman should want to give birth. It’s a choice, and it should be a choice.”
(Photo: Rebecca Roher)
Thankfully, Roher isn’t finished with Mom Body just yet. Fans have suggested more topics for the series such as miscarriages and infertility and even volunteered to be interviewed for future comics.
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