NEW YORK, July 17, 2007

Pregnant Women Strike A Pose

More Women Find Beauty In Taking Artsy Photographs While Carrying A Child

  • Maternity photographer Jennifer Loomis prepares Tammy Witt and her daughter, Scyanne, for their shoot.

    Maternity photographer Jennifer Loomis prepares Tammy Witt and her daughter, Scyanne, for their shoot.  (CBS/The Early Show)

(CBS)  It was an image that turned heads everywhere: a 1991 cover of Vanity Fair for which a very pregnant Demi Moore posed nude.

"She really did open the doors, open the gates wide for everyone to say, 'You know it's beautiful, it's my body, it's natural,' " baby trend expert Rachel Florio told The Early Show correspondent Kelly Wallace, who is pregnant.

Since that infamous cover, other celebrities have followed in Moore's footsteps. Britney Spears and Brooke Shields both bared their big, beautiful bellies.

And it's not just in Hollywood. Even companies such as Burberry have been breaking baby barriers by featuring everyday women in their ads.

"Gone with the days barefoot and pregnant, and in with the days of bare belly and beautiful," Florio said.

Maternity photographer Jennifer Loomis sees her share of bare bellies. Fifteen years ago, she photographed about five women a month. Now, every month she sees at least 35 moms-to-be.

"One of my friends said pregnancy is the new black, you know, I mean everyone wants to be pregnant, it's sort of in vogue, it's fashionable," she said.

Most of Loomis's clients are women 35 and older, like 37-year-old Tammy Witt.

"I hope to gain a perspective other than top down," she said.

Tammy is pregnant with her second child, due in August. This time around, she wanted to capture the moment with her 13-year-old daughter, Scyanne.

"This is a new beginning again for me ,and this would be a beginning for her, and I think there is something really unique and special that I wanted to capture for our family," Witt said.

Jennifer thinks there's a reason more pregnant women are flaunting their bellies and their bodies.

"When you work hard to get pregnant like some older moms have to do, you want to document it, you want to say look, this has been a great nine months," Loomis said.

Even Wallace, in her sixth month of pregnancy, gave it a shot. First Loomis loosened her up because she says a relaxed mom-to-be makes for a much better photograph. Loomis photographed Wallace fully covered and sometimes in more revealing poses, but Wallace said she felt comfortable the whole time and wondered why she hadn't done this during her first pregnancy, a sentiment shared by Witt.

"I'm thinking, 'Wow there is something really wonderful about this,' " she said, "You know, there's something almost, it may not happen again, so why not capture it, why not capture it while I feel this good."

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by Dublecros July 18, 2007 3:20 PM EDT
Pregnant women are visions of beauty. They radiate a "glow" about them. They are the propagator's of the human race. Without them.....we are history.
More power to them, let them parade their beauty however they see fit/feel comfortable.
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by sclaires July 18, 2007 1:27 AM EDT
Well, it's their body and if they want pictures of them being pregnant, then so be it. Much better then a fat man.
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by arohanui-2009 July 18, 2007 12:13 AM EDT
Sounds like you have a problem Dingaling. Nothing more beautiful than a pregnant woman except the new baby itself. Crawl back under your rock.
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by cremlacrem July 17, 2007 10:29 PM EDT
That pose by Demi Moore made me nautious. Not pretty at all. But then again, she isn't very pretty.
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by randalds July 17, 2007 7:56 PM EDT
In always thought nude pregnant women were hot. When my ex was pregnant with our kids it just made her look that much more ***.
Reply to this comment
by ov442 July 17, 2007 7:35 PM EDT
Pregnant moms are Cool.
Take all the pics you want. Its better than some of the pics from "art students" or
"porno-scum" thats out there.
Pregnant women have that Glow about them. InFact some women look much healthier and better when they are pregnant.

And Long Live Public BreastFeeding!! Women have the right to do as they want. People can avert their eyes and not stare too.
If the elephant man walked by and he made me vomit, i can always choose not to look at him too.
Reply to this comment
by mountainzen July 17, 2007 6:04 PM EDT
So long as fat men don't get any ideas...
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by m0n1que July 17, 2007 2:21 PM EDT
If you really look back in history, Patti LaBelle was the first one to do a pregnancy cover.
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