What Is Belly Painting and Is It Good for You?
Belly painting is an increasingly used technique among pregnant woman. They often paint their “baby bump” for the baby shower celebration or for a special set of photographs.
Baby showers are increasingly fashionable and include all kinds of activities, including belly painting. This trend has really taken off in recent years. Pregnant women often paint their bellies especially for a photoshoot in a professional studio.
Belly painting: why do it?
A pregnant woman’s baby bump often generates a happy feeling and attracts a lot of attention, so what better way to use it than as a canvas?
Belly painting is a practice that, in addition to being fun, is perfect for great memories of this very special stage of life.
The art of belly painting
This trend involves creating designs that the woman especially likes. They can be designs that, in some way, are related to what she’s going through, or that have something special to do with the couple.
It’s worth noting that the paints used are natural and the artistic make-up is easily washable. These paints are in no way harmful to the mother’s skin or the baby’s health, as we’ll explain later.
A perfect memory
A belly painting session can take one or more hours, depending on the type of design that’s decided upon. In many cases, the future child’s name is painted on the baby bump along with some other design related to the child.
You always have the option of a body painting professional if you want a really high-quality job. They can professionally paint any part of your body, including your baby bump.
In addition to that, many women choose to hire a professional photographer for those special moments. They can record the experience step by step and show the design being created.
Having a photo book of that day is undoubtedly a beautiful memory. You’ll then be able to show it to your child when they grow up. If you don’t want to have them on paper, you can always save them on a disk and just print the one you like best and put it in a frame.
Frequently asked questions about belly painting
If some of your friends have already enjoyed this experience and you’d like to do the same for your baby shower or at another time, then you’ll surely have some questions about this technique. These are some of the most frequent:
1. What are the benefits of belly painting?
It has a very positive effect on the pregnant woman because of the simple fact that the brush strokes are very relaxing. The baby will also feel pampered and calm.
2. When can belly painting be done?
We recommend doing it between six and eight months, since the belly is more pronounced at that stage and birth is still not imminent. Each woman will have her own preferences as to when.
One interesting option that some pregnant women opt for is to paint their bellies month by month to show how they’re growing.
3. Is it safe for the baby?
Many mothers don’t want to do belly painting since they think it’ll be toxic to the baby or their own skin. However, the makeup and paints are natural, even suitable for vegans, and are cruelty-free.
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- Ezeanolue, E. E., Obiefune, M. C., Yang, W., Obaro, S. K., & Ezeanolue, C. O. (2014). The baby shower initiative: A framework for interventions to promote birth outcomes. Annals of Global Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aogh.2014.08.174
- Garrido Vílchez, R. (2018). Bodypainting: La piel como lienzo. https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/80666/WAOTFG_158.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y