IT feels like celebrities are announcing pregnancies and births left, right and centre at the moment.
But what do their announcements tell us about their parenting styles?
Here body language expert Judi James looks at some of the most popular pregnancy announcements from the past year.
And while Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were striving for “privacy” with their heartwarming post, Judi says Little Mix stars Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock are already proving themselves to be natural mothers.
COOL AND SUPER-CONFIDENT – PERRIE & ALEX
Judi says: “This super-stylish monochrome bump reveal suggests a decisive and deftly confident approach to the pregnancy, with the bump featured blissfully, like a star in its own right: straight to camera and shown off with a wonderful lack of reserve.”
“She draws attention to the subtle hand gesture made by Perrie’s beau.
“It’s Alex’s hands on the bump, signalling proud joint ownership and total involvement, emphasizing the fact that he made this baby too and will probably be a hands-on dad!
“Perrie describes herself as going ‘on this journey with my soulmate’ and that’s very much the ‘team of three’ message from the body language here.
“This pose suggests Perrie might have experience of watching family members/friends being pregnant and giving birth and so have a very relaxed and happy approach to having her own baby as a result.”
HIGH STATUS INTRO– LEIGH-ANNE & ANDRE
“This gorgeous, fashion-styled bump reveal shows Leigh-Anne in a similarly iconic pose as A-list celebrities like Beyonce and Kim Kardashian.
“Surrounded by swathes of flowing emerald green satin, the bump appears to be having a very high-status introduction to the world thanks to the elegant pose and styling.
“Leigh-Anne’s hand shows a matching emerald ring and it’s hard to imagine the baby won’t be posing in co-ordinating silks once it has made its arrival into the world.
“This pose is almost like a fantasy sequence, suggesting a very romantic view of birth and childcare.”
PROTECTIVE APPROACH – LAURA WHITMORE & IAIN STIRLING
“This pose looks super-smart and unique, with the styling and the body language suggesting someone who wants to avoid cliché and tradition and assert her own individuality on the bump reveal.
“There’s a huge contrast between the rather ethereal looking clothes and facial expression and the black tights and black satin killer heels.
“They suggest a rather protective attitude to the bump and perhaps a cautious and private approach despite the ‘relaxed’ head-propping pose.”
FREE PARENTING APPROACH – MEGHAN & PRINCE HARRY
“Trees, acres of grass, a flowing dress for Meghan and bare feet from Harry, this bump reveal is one big commune with nature, suggesting an emphasis on a free-wheeling, ‘wind in their hair’ approach to parenting with Meghan lying back while Harry dotes on her adoringly.
“The couple look keen to down-play their status in this pose, suggesting they might be wanting to give their children as natural and private a childhood as possible, given who they are and where they live.
“A lot of work went into making this pose look spontaneous and private though, suggesting Meghan will be prepared to work hard at creating a similar vibe for her baby.”
CUTE & MODEST – PRINCESS EUGENIE & JACK BROOKSBANK
“Eugenie has said it all in an emoji-style symbol here, placing a cute pair of baby slippers in front of the camera rather than going down the celebrity bump-to-baby route.
“It’s cute and rather modest and like an emoji it pretty much sums up the moment without going into any detail.
“Baby slippers like this always get an ‘Ah’ from people, while allowing Eugenie to stick to a less physically-revealing and royal approach to giving birth.”
THE SOCIAL MEDIA REVEAL – MRS HINCH
“With its group formation (including the dog) and its story-telling approach, this pose shows Mrs. Hinch’s influencer side while clearly down-playing the bump itself.
“As her husband points to the scan pic of the baby and the dog watches with interest the bump itself is concealed behind her leg and arm and jumper and hair.
“It looks like a rather modest deflection as though she’s keen to keep a strong family group vibe rather than just featuring her pregnancy.
“It looks as though there’s a lot of effort gone into making this pose work, suggesting a similar approach to motherhood with a strong eye to detail and sharing, plus some fun.”
TEAM PICKLE – STACEY SOLOMON & JOE SWASH
“Stacey is calling her new baby her ‘little pickle’ and it’s clear from this pregnancy reveal that the new little pickle already has their place in the family group with her bigger pickles.
“The line of hand prints at the front now have a scan photo placed at the end and there’s another print being displayed by the couple’s children.
“Stacey and Joe look ecstatic, with Stacey’s head tilted onto Joe’s shoulder, while he adopts the leg splay and hands in the pockets pose of a proud dad.
“By dressing the whole family in matching outfits Stacey very emphatically makes this a ‘team’ reveal that includes signals of excitement and joy from everyone.”
THE NO-SHOW – PRINCESS BEATRICE & EDOARDO MAPELLI MOZZI
“Did Beatrice not plan a bump reveal photo or has she just been too busy to get round to it?
“She is so close to her sister and may have taken her lead when it comes to subtlety and a more private approach, with strong hints that she might prefer to celebrate and show the love and excitement inside the tight family unit rather than in public.”
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