Beautiful Pregnant Women
Tuesday, August 16th, 2005
Part I: The Photos of Jennifer Maya Luz Pliego
Part II: It’s Not a Preggers Fetish, I Swear
Contest: Do you have a memorable pregnancy story? SMITH and the delicious pickle maker Rick’s Picks invite you to share your tale of this time in your life in 100 words or less. You don’t need a bun in the oven at this moment, just at some point in your life (and a photo to prove it). Three grand prize winners will be featured on a nationally distributed line of pickles, the aptly named Slices of Life—“the pickle of pregnancy.” Seven runners-up will win a Rick’s Picks Pregnancy Pack and a copy of our new book, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. Enter here!
Jennifer Maya Luz Pliego is a half Mexican, half Jewish, fully lovely New York City-based photographer. She is a contributor to Heyoka magazine.
For seven years, Jennifer Maya Luz Pliego has been photographing women in various stages of pregnancy. As both a mid-wife and massage therapist, Jennifer’s view of the female body is intimate, unique and engaged. Here she presents her photos and her own subjects’ words from a series she calls “Dar a Luz,” or “Bring to Light.”
Aline and Sergio, 2004
This time has been about me, but also about my family. In so many ways it is about them: my parents and Ricardo’s parents. They are overwhelmingly happy, so it makes whatever discomforts I feel, whatever fears that I harbor or whatever insecurities I have, fade.
Of course, we are happy too, but for us it is more complicated — for our parents it is just this big party and that helps us to stay strong as we step up and into our new role as parents.
Birgit and Maxine, 2001
Every time I think about motherhood I have a different thought. There are so many levels. It is so simple and so complex. It is both the hardest, most underpaid job I’ve ever had and the most wonderful job I’ve ever had.
Pregnancy is just the beginning of the experience. In a sense, it is the closest I will ever be with my child and yet I can’t wait to meet her and watch her be an individual. I await all the changes that come with that: her needing me and not needing me and letting that be a part of the job.
Diana, Canyon and Skylar, 2001
I am having problems with my husband. He has not been present at all during the pregnancy. He had strong feelings about it and so did I. I don’t know what will happen with him, but I am determined to have a good life — with or without him.
I am in school and will continue part time even after the baby is born. I am lucky, Skylar has been great. She is so grown up for her age. I sometimes feel badly for this; she has so much responsibility for such a young person. I try to be there for her and will continue to after Canyon is born, but there is only so much a child can handle, so I hope things stabilize soon.
Delphin, Tom and Daniel, 2003
I can’t believe I am carrying a child. The events that have happened since I came to the US from France have happened so quickly. I was working as a nanny in Westchester and I met Danny at a party there. He wasn’t looking for love and neither was I, but when we met….
I feel so fortunate. Sometimes, I think it is a dream; this can’t be my life. I have such a wonderful husband and we are both so happy to have this child. I’ve been lucky, we’ve been lucky, to find each other and to begin this life together. It is a new life for both of us. A life that neither one of us ever thought that we would have.
Hilde and Paris, 2003
The feeling of life kicking inside of me put so many things into perspective. I learned about a new kind of love; it is a love and a bond with something that is not fully formed.
As my body changed, I was surprised how good I felt about those changes. I had anticipated feeling restrained, heavy and confined — in a state of inertia. I had prepared myself for that space, so when it wasn’t like that, it was so easy — pure gravy!
I am able to listen to my body in a new way and accept the changes that occurred as a natural part of the process. I get new cues from my baby every day. You have to be flexible; the process can’t be changed. It is happening in my body. It is a mind-boggling miracle.
Kate and Gareth, 2004
Pregnancy is fascinating, but it is almost impossible to describe. I can explain it through sensation—like the memory of the skin over my belly stretching in the third trimester or how good and how strange it feels when Matt touches my belly, especially now that I’m so close to term. When he touches me and the baby, several things come to mind: it is like through his touch, I can be more aware of our child, too, and I love that feeling of closeness, and then that it is a transition that will be finished soon. We will move into another kind of life together.
I love my belly now—I never thought I would feel this way. It has always been a source of anxiety, a measure of my beauty, a reference to my weight, etc…. Now, as I gaze at my navel, it is not about me any more. There is a whole other presence developing inside. I’ve learned to love my stomach. It is a source of joy.
Rachel and Henry, 2003
Whatever job I had before, even though I enjoyed what I was doing, I could never really commit to it because I knew that I wanted to be a mother. Now that I am a mother, I feel complete. I am totally fulfilled. I am even happier that I get to share parenthood with a partner that I love.
Pregnancy for me is an incredibly personal experience. I don’t share that with my husband even though he is every involved. I am aware that this is happening inside of my body and that gives me a unique experience. This part is insular. I feel that it is private. I have always taken good care of myself and felt like I was important, but in pregnancy this is vital. I am important in a different way. I am the vessel for this child.
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My family has always believed that any food is better if you add bacon to it. However, we’ve found the exception and it is chicken livers.
Trust me, they don’t improve.
as to your assertion that all foods are better with either bacon or chocolate added… my husband and I discussed this puzzle at great length and concluded that the food least likely to be so improved are CARROTS. beets were a close second, the key being a sweet veg.
In the Fershleiser clan, the phenomenon is worded thusly:
There is no food on earth that cannot be improved by the addition of either garlic or Nutella.
OK, everybody. Go quarter some carrots and young (i.e., small) Brussels sprouts, cube some beets, and dump everything into a big bowl.
Stir with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar into which you’ve chopped a garlic clove or two. Or three. Or four. (And added some thyme, if you’re so inclined.)
Arrange everything (neatly!) in a Pyrex pan or roasting dish. Put that in a 400-degree oven for at least 45 minutes (time depends on how much vegetable matter you’re roasting). The first time you turn the vegetables (around 15 minutes), add some bacon or diced pancetta.
Everyone happy?
Oh, and take your chocolate and Nutella to the dessert table.
they are so beautiful
Carrots ARE great with bacon!!! My mom makes this great carrot /bacon dish at Christmas that is to die for!!!
THE MOTHERHOOD IT IS WONDER-BEAUTIFUL !
Beautiful pictures!
Hi! I stumbled upon your story while I was seaching for a specific maternity top I saw once…I’m pregnant w/ my third baby, and I have to tell ya - It’s a HUGE confidence boost to find people who admire pregnancy and think it’s beautiful! I happen to agree, but sometimes the way we feel can invade that, making us feel like a beach ball with legs. Thanks!
Beautiful Pregnant Women - A Photo Essay…
This photo essay from SMITH Magazine, smithmag.net, offers photographs of pregnant women and their stories. Part I are photos from photographer Jennifer Pliego. Part II feature shots of Larry Smith with his many pregnant friends….
I think pregnant women are very beautiful and are bring beauty into an other wise ugly world.
[…] Andie Grace, aka ActionGrl, the latest in our series of Beautiful Pregnant Women. Her partner, a great man who answers to the name Thumper, took this shot on AG’s birthday in the […]
Awwwww, now! Ya make an about-to-pop pregnant lady blush.
Spam cannot be improved with Chocolate!!!
those r beautiful pics. but they need to show more of their body
These pics are awesome…intimate, evocative of a beautiful time (my wife gave birth to three amazing children). Brussel sprouts sauteed with bacon are absolutely stunning, paired nicely with ginger and honey sweet mashed pototoes, and pan seared sock-eyed salmon……heavenly.
those are beautiful pics but they need to show more of those sexy bodys
This stories and pictures are indeed very pnteresting. I have found pregnant women very beautiful and sexy. it is sad that men do not see the sensual side of a pregnant woman. I would love to correspond with pregnant woman and share views with them on pregnancy and parenting. I am working towards a PHD in gender studies on women and pregnancy, the joys of womanhood. Write to me if you are a pregnant women and experiencing the miracle of pregnancy. Would like to correspond with you on jamali.king@hotmail.com
O would specially love to correspond with pregnant women who feel neglected and unloved and who need someone to listen to them and share their joy with. i look forward to your correspondence.
Beautiful photos, I just wish I felt beautiful while being pregnant.
i am a pregnant woman and i like to look sexy in the eyes of my hunband, how do i do it?
[…] What makes a man step off a cross-country flight and jump in a cab from the SF Airport to the City to take one photo, and then get back in the cab in order to be where he needs to be, which is two hours in the opposite direction? I direct you to Exhibit E: This photo of Ellen Dunne and me. I’ve known for more than a dozen years, and seen the best of her from San Francisco to New York; under hot sun, pouring rain, and inches of dust; in various states of high style and deep slumming; in the most professional of circumstances and behaving badly at weddings. In perhaps the classiest moment in all of the many moments of sports fandom I’ve ever witnessed, this passionate Patriots fan helped me assemble my all-green outfit before I departed for the Super Bowl in Jackson, FL, where my Eagles were beaten by those nasty Pats. That’s a good friend. In every moment, she is uniquely Ellen Dunne: totally together, completely overachieving, taking on too much for too many, with no complaints nor discernible sweat. That’s the way they raise ‘em in New England. Plus, she’s very good to all of the cats and dogs. And too damn cute. A beautiful pregnant woman. […]
i am a 22 yr old female and i am EXTREMELLY EXCITED that i am finally going to be an aunt in few days or even weeks. i must be honest when my sister was going through all this time, i felt i was also going through it myself-thus it was always great seeing her happy,beautifully dressed and pushing that huge,huge bag. i am so greatful,i cant wait and yes i am guilty for praying for a little adoreable girl child. i pray she looks like me especially take my hair and smile.