Baby Bump celebrates expectant mothers

By Melchizedek Maquiso

BELLEVILLE Ont. (28/01/12) - Heather Meeks shows her newly painted belly during the Baby Bump event held at the By the Moon studio. Meeks is one of several expectant mothers who participated in the said event. Photo by Melchizedek Maquiso.

More than 40 people, mostly expectant mothers, participated in the Belly Bump, a free celebration event for expectant mothers held at By The Moon studio.

It was the first time that the studio organized such event.

“My goal when I came first with the idea of the Baby Bump was to share the information that there are options out there that you may not even know,” said Michelle Stroud, who owns By The Moon in Belleville and is also a labour doula and practising maternity reflexologist.

Stroud is referring particularly to services her studio offers for expectant mothers such as prenatal physical fitness, birth pool rental and shamanic wellness services among others which fall under the studio’s holistic health and fitness mantra.

Participants received a variety of services including belly painting and photography, maternity reflexology, dancing for birth class and despacho ceremony, a type of ceremonial offering.

Half of the expectant mothers went for the belly painting.

“Belly painting was a big draw.  Women wanted to bare their bellies for art,” said Stroud.

“We’re planning to do this or at least a version of it, every three months,” added Tracey Kennedy, the studio’s practising shaman who also did the paintings.

Expectant mothers who had their bellies painted said they were happy to have a piece of art drawn on them.

“It is a different way to celebrate the guy inside,” said Belleville resident Andrea Langille, who is expecting her second child in April.