Glamming up for labour - where were the health experts in GMB's shocker of a debate?

Glamming up for labour - where were the health experts in GMB's shocker of a debate?

"68% of women apply makeup on the same day as giving birth"...did anyone else watch this shocker of a debate on GMB this morning?

Initially I rolled my eyes at just another sexist headline but as the discussion unfolded, the more invested I got.

In a nutshell - there is a growing trend for women doing GRWM's (get ready with me's) on Tik Tok showing their glam (and I mean glam) look being applied while in labour. The defendent Naomi Isted justified applying makeup (even between contractions) because it made her feel good and the opposition disagreed, lightly touching upon the obvious rational reasons why what you look like doesn't matter when you're giving birth. The pinnacle of the debate was Naomi calling women who don't apply makeup "lazy" and "lowering their standards". Where's Piers Morgan when you need him?

Even though I have a passion for makeup and has worked in the makeup industry for over a decade, I was still appalled to hear that makeup is the catalyst we are using for making ourselves feel good under this circumstance when surely nothing should make ourselves feel better than the miracle of bringing a human into the world after 9 months of hard slog.

Though Naomi's comments were of course offensive and vain, what frustrated me the most was the fact that this is now a Tik Tok trend and women are more concerned about what they look like in order to get that post birth Instagram shot over getting their babies into the world safely, and that shows a surprising lack of priority.

While Clare Muldoon raised valid points, it would have been far more beneficial to have a health expert as the opposition to explain why wearing makeup during birth is not a good idea and not just make it a (relatively) lighthearted topic about preference.

I am not a health expert by any means but as I have had a planned C Section I have been educated on the reason makeup is not a good idea. For a planned C Section, you are not allowed any makeup - even my acrylic nails had to be removed. Totally understandable - this is serious. It's a major surgery and the main reason behind this is for safety and to monitor my health through the process. 1 in 4 babies are delivered by C Section in the UK with a majority being emergency C Sections. Guaranteed a lot of these women who are wearing makeup, nails and false tan will end up having major surgery and in rarer cases will give birth under general anesthetic where time is of the essense, and removing it just isn't possible and this creates challenges for the medical staff, meaning risks for Mum in particular.

But safety is really not the only reason makeup is a bad idea. As Ranvir mentioned, she couldn't imagine fresh baby skin being touched with lipstick right after birth. Babies' lovely sensitive skin has not yet touched anything, and after a C section birth it is commonplace for vernix to be placed on the mother's face with the baby placed on the cheek of the mother as a way to bond. Imagine if that baby had an adverse reaction to the smell or chemicals in your tan/makeup? Furthermore if breastfeeding is the route the mother chooses, the baby could be ingesting the self tan. Let's not even get onto the topic of what this means for water births.

Granted for those who have a non-problematic vaginal birth, the process is much longer and arduous and there is more time to consider these things, but where along the way has it been forgotten that having a child is ultimately about bringing life into the world safely for both Mum & baby, not about how you look on Instagram at the end of it?

Another stat GMB threw out was that 79% of Mums bring makeup into hospital with them, which on the other hand is a stat I can understand. We are constantly bombarded with imagery of royals and celebrities looking immaculate after birth so it's no wonder that women feel the pressure that society expects them to look a certain way. The difference upon leaving the hospital however, is that you've had time to meet and bond with your baby and if you've got it in you (I certainly didn't) then applying makeup to leave the hospital is surely a moot point.

I'm sure there will be many more opinions on the topic, and I'm particularly interested to hear healthcare professionals shed more light on the topic of wearing makeup while giving birth.

I personally think heavy makeup & self tan should be banned when giving birth in hospital for health reasons. What do you think?

#goodmorningbritain #glamupforlabour

Gayle Peck

NSCC CCA Program 2023

1y

You are in a hospital environment.

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