Megan | Art of Motherhood
I launched the ‘Art of Motherhood’ Campaign with the mission to empower and inspire confidence in women by showcasing their true self, strength, beauty and to celebrate their pregnancy with a Maternity Body & Soul photoshoot. I want to help shift perspectives about pregnancy and show that EVERY pregnant body is exquisite… EVERY body is a work of art. But most importantly, no two pregnancies are the same, and there is so much diversity in how we all experience pregnancy, from how we feel, to how we look - the transformation we go through emotionally, mentally and physically. This season is worth documenting and celebrating.
So I’d love for you to follow along, read the stories of these incredible women and be inspired.
*Content warning* mention of loss.
Meet Megan
“My pregnancy journey started in March 2020. I was turning 35 that year and had had some hormone levels tested and they were low so I planned to start trying after a big overseas trip. When that was cancelled we started trying a few months early. By July 2020 after a few months of trying I had my first positive pregnancy test and was ecstatic. I told all of my family, immediately started shopping - my partner and I were just on cloud nine! Two weeks into the pregnancy I started spotting and even though this is normal I was worried and went to the ER in the middle of the night. My bloods were checked and they confirmed I was miscarrying. I was told about how common miscarriages were. Because I became pregnant so easily we were not worried and decided to keep trying.
In 10 months I had 4 miscarriages, all around the 6 week mark. My partner and I did a genetic test to find out that we each carried the same rare recessive gene that would impact a pregnancy around 25% of the time. It seemed to be a run of bad luck but there was no other reason we could not go on to have a healthy pregnancy. My GP told me that we would get there, it was just how many times we could mentally keep going through the losses (not to mention the physical effects on my hormones with the constant pregnancies!).”
“We decided to try IVF because we could have the embryos tested before they were implanted. Our affected gene was so rare they had to develop the test from scratch. Whilst they did that we spent 6 months on a 'fertility boot camp'. Diet, acupuncture, naturopaths - the works. Finally in mid 2021 we were able to start IVF. The first round we did not get to the egg collection because not enough eggs matured. The second round only 4 eggs were collected. That was so disheartening but all 4 were able to be fertilised and 3 made it to the testing stage. Two of the embryos failed the genetic test, leaving us only 1. This was called a mosaic embryo and they were unable to tell if it was healthy or not. As the clinic was about to shut for the 2021 summer holidays, we had to wait until early 2022 for the implantation.
We ended up falling pregnant naturally in December 2021 whilst waiting. I was sceptical the first few weeks but every test and check-in was successful. I made it to 8 weeks and heard the heartbeat and saw the scan - that was unbelievable! Then after the first trimester ended everyone was pretty sure it was a healthy pregnancy and I was able to relax.”
During her pregnancy Megan says “I felt amazing. No morning sickness, my skin glowed and hair was shiny. My body was doing this amazing thing after trying for so long and it made me feel powerful and comfortable in my skin.” Megan chose affirmations, bubble baths and healthy eating as part of her self care practices.
In sharing her birth story, Megan says “I wanted a calm, low intervention birth. That was the plan at least! I was overdue and induced and had a 12 hour birth. 6 hours of active labour and about an hour of pushing. I had a beautiful birthing suite, my partner was so supportive and wonderful team of midwives who helped me set the scene in the room. Aromatherapy, low lights, music. I moved around and got in the shower at the beginning but as the contractions got worse (those induction contractions, am I right?) I requested an epidural. Despite not planning on one, it was immediate relief and I have no regrets. It did make the pushing part a lot more difficult than I had planned for. I was planning on breathing the baby down and not pushing - but that's not possible with the epidural. And I was bed-bound which also wasn't my preference. In the moment I just wanted bubs to come out in whatever manner!
When we got to the pushing stage he moved down and I just couldn't get the head out so we were close to needing a c-section when he finally made an appearance.”
Describing her photoshoot experience, Megan says “It was 10/10. I was so nervous! I had seen Tania's beautiful work and didn't think I would be able to look so good. But it was such a fun day and she got the most beautiful photos. I was so surprised! I felt the photos represented how I felt all pregnancy. I felt strong and beautiful and very rarely did that translate to pictures I saw of myself. These photos captured it perfectly!”
If you’re unsure if a Body & Soul Maternity photoshoot is for you Megan’s advice is “Be nervous and do it anyway - you will be so happy you did.”
Interested in your own Maternity Body & Soul Boudoir photoshoot experience? Get in touch here.