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...with your belly out! 

This page is for any woman who feels that she doesn't  fit the "traditional" mama mold:

Punk Rock Mamas, Hip Hop Mamas, Goth Mamas, Tattooed Mamas,  Pierced Mamas, Rockin' Mamas, Indie Mamas, Metal Mamas, Granola Mamas and just straight up Hot Mamas!

If Enya doesn't top your favorite music artists, why on earth would you have her on your labor mix tape? Every woman is different and it will vary from one mama's birth to the next what brings her comfort: visualizing a rose opening might help one woman during labor, listening to the new Nas album might help another woman and watching "Absolutely Fabulous" could help the next. Cookie cutter birth plans are such a thing of the past. Be creative, be juicy and be yourself!

"Making informed decisions during pregnancy and birth can have a huge impact on how confident a woman feels about being a mother, and it's her reproductive right to have safe birth choices available. Preparing for birth is like preparing for a pirate adventure across the ocean: you can't predict or control labor, just as you can't control the sea. But you have nine months to inform yourself on a variety of options, prepare for the journey, and make sure that you have the best crew and tools available on board with you. Just remember that it's your ship, you call the shots, and if some matey dares to tell you to be quiet during labor, show them the plank!"  (Excerpted from the Feb/Mar 2007 issue of BUST magazine, "Labor of Love" article by Lynn Flanagan)

This is your V.I.P. invite to join the crew of the S.S. Awesome Mama! Check in often for magnificent articles and question and answer forums that you would not find in the average land loving parent mag.

Q: Is it safe to get a tattoo while I am pregnant or breastfeeding? 

Lynn: There are three ways to consider this question. First off, if you are bent on getting inked up during pregnancy or breastfeeding, it is not contraindicated. In a quality shop, the ink is non-toxic and an autoclave is used to sterilize needles and to insure your safety.  

I've known reputable tattoo artists who have inked up mamas in late pregnancy because the women wanted to finish a sleeve before they had  little ones in arms; babies are notorious for going straight for newly etched tattoos—Ouch!

On the other hand, with all the possible discomforts of pregnancy, why would you want to take on one more? When you are feeding, diapering, and burping a new baby 24/7, will you have the time or remember to properly cleanse and lube-up your new tattoo? Probably not.

Finally pregnancy and new mamahood bring huge emotional and physical changes. If you are going through a phase of feeling more "mama" than "hot,"  a new haircut or body art can seem like a good idea in an effort to reclaim your "previous" self. You can never again be exactly who you were before you became a mama. Before you make any change, whether simple, temporary or permanent, sit with it to consider what you are hoping the change will bring.