Rising Trend of Celebrity Pregnancies
How long will this Hollywood baby boom last? No one can say for sure, but I doubt it’s any time soon. Celebrities are toting their newborns all over the place in high-end slings and Prada onesies. Its almost as though the bump, as well as the infant, has become a fashion accessory. There won’t be any muu-muus or baggy jeans for these stars. Designer maternity wear is standard not just for the Oscars, but around town, in case one might be photographed while out and about.
Another popular trend right now is to have nude maternity photos taken, strategically airbrushed of course, and put in on the cover of a magazine. If no one realized you were pregnant before, they will now. It seems like celebs will do anything to garner attention to their pregnancies and their newborn. For example, recently Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were reported to be upset with the price offers for pictures of Suri. Jolie and Pitt were paid a substanial amount from People magazine for photos of Shiloh. To me, it seems like they are pimping out their children for publicity.
So many celebrities are pregnant or have recently been pregnant. The biggest “attractions” are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s biological child, in addition to their adopted children. Britney Spears, Brooke Shields, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gwen Stefani, Geri Halliwell, Mira Sorvino, Rachel Weisz and Anna Nicole Smith are just a small few of those who have jumped on the baby bandwagon and there seems to be no end in sight for this trend.
For those celebrities who aren’t ready to sacrifice their bodies for motherhood, Jolie has set the trend for adopting babies from third world countries. Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore (mother of three) are rumored to be considering adopting a child from another country. And while that seems a noble cause, adopting a child of unfortunate circumstances, it doesn’t come across as noble. Celebrity children are raised by nannies when they’re not being photographed by paparazzi. I have no doubt that celebrities do love their children, and I can see wanting a child to have every advantage in the world, but as a mother, I cannot understand a parent who can be three thousand miles away from their child filming a movie for three months. Spending all their time getting back their pre-pregnancy body and showing off how fast they can lose that baby weight at movie premiers is bound to cut into their time with their children.
In fact, celebrities can’t seem to understand why another celebrity might want to take time off from working and just raise their children. When Gwyneth Paltrow had her daughter, Apple, she was ostracized by other stars for not getting a nanny. In Hollywood, it seems like the norm that children are treated as fashion accessories and not as children.
I’m not saying celebrities don’t have the right to have a child. My point is simply that children should not be considered a tool with which to boost your own image. Children should be a parents number one priority and deciding to have a child shouldn’t be thought of lightly as a marketing tool. Planning a baby’s due date around the release of your next movie is selfish and irresponsible. A baby is NOT a publicity stunt.
