Women and maternity: the importance of celebrating the scars of life

Comparing herself with examples of the standard beauty around her, a woman who has just given birth is likely to feel uncomfortable with her changed physicality – with any extra kilos or stretch marks.

Yet those physical changes are the result of a wonderful event.

In many civilizations of the past, a shapely body was considered beautiful and attractive – one that evoked images of fertility, that is, the female ability to protect and give life. A woman was beautiful for her generative capacity.

Today, at least in the West, women have received the recognition of fundamental rights denied even only a few decades ago, but at the same time, while achieving important milestones, we have dropped a great privilege: to be able to feel good – in every sense – with their bodies “tested” by maternity.

The role of the media

Having a child is often considered to be just one of the many aspects of a woman’s life and, often, not even one of the most important. There are indeed an endless array of “things to do” before they can “sacrifice” a family. And this trend is also visible in the media.

Just take a quick look at the world of entertainment, fashion, film or advertising. There are every greater numbers of women getting fit, career women, independent women, hobby women, seductive women, women’s sports, women on vacation, but there are really few women ‘moms’.

Therefore, a woman who, in order to bring a child in the world, must forgo things such as her physical fitness, for example, is likely to feel a fish out of water.

However, a society has a future only to the extent that it values life and appreciates the “burden” of being carried by womb’s mom.

The media can do a lot for this: we need images that can encapsulate and reveal the immense value of maternity. We need films, literature, and videos that capture the magic of that “different” body, which can be seen in the physical changes of pregnancy and postpartum that wonderful, precious “scars”.

The beauty of a maternal body

She might find herself in front of the mirror, scowling as she sees her body transformed. She might feel unhappy about it.

“No woman is more beautiful than you, no one is more feminine than you are, because you bring in a life: you are doing something unique and wonderful, something that you, just as a woman, can do … You prefer to have a perfect body or grow our son inside you? “

These are the words that my husband always repeated in those moments, these are the words that every new-mom should hear. Everyone should have someone who devotes to them a letter like that which Rafael Hurtado devoted to his wife through Familyandmedia.

It is right that a woman takes care of her body, which is not shaken and that she gets back into shape. But it is also right that, immediately after giving birth, she looks into mirror and sees herself as gorgeous – for her body has become a temple of life.