Is birthing makeup a labour of love or does it set unrealistic beauty standards?

We all know how important first impressions are, so why should it be any different when meeting your bundle of joy? That’s the question millions of women on TikTok are posing via the trending hashtags #birthingmakeup, #labourmakeup and #deliverymakeup.

While dolling yourself up in the delivery room is by no means a new idea—one only needs to consider the ’50s housewife culture of always looking prim and proper—influencers have recently been sharing their pre-birth cosmetics on social media. Or in the case of Heidi Montag, a full glam squad. In a 15-second video posted to the reality star’s TikTok in November 2022, Montag can be seen getting her face professionally painted (her hair also perfectly coiffed) while husband Ryker Pratt sets up a tripod and ring light around her bed. All of which was documented by a professional photographer, also visible in the background.

Such a glamorous labour may seem like a Hollywood-only experience, but it’s no Tinseltown trend. In fact, more and more women in Australia are pre-packing cosmetics in their hospital bags and organising makeup artists, including Alex Fevola, for the big day. The celebrity makeup artist and founder of Runway Room, told Harper’s Bazaar Australia/New Zealand she’s been booked a few times for clients who had C-sections.

“They were friends and they were scheduled C-sections, so it was a planned event,” she reveals. “I wasn’t called at 3am for an emergency make-over!”

That’s not to say on-call makeup artists aren’t a thing, as you’ll read below. But whether professionals are organised in advance or an emergency call, their booking—and the idea of birthing makeup more broadly—has seen backlash online. Birth announcement posts depicting mothers with full faces of makeup have been criticised for not only setting “unrealistic beauty standards” but for undermining the gruelling experience women face while giving birth. With help from Fevola, Bazaar breaks down birthing makeup to help you decide whether to go full glam for your bub—and likely the subsequent social media post.

What is birthing makeup?

Mothers in Australia, and around the world, are covering the pain, sweat and stress of childbirth with cosmetics. But rather than opt for a simple touch of mascara or under-eye concealer, they’re going for an Instagram-ready look—and for that exact reason. Post-birth photography is now more popular than ever, with couples these days hiring photographers to capture the entire experience for social media. For some, this means putting on a little (or a lot) of makeup as a confidence boost to post their selfie or professional shot.

While research has proven women feel better about themselves when they’re wearing makeup, the desire to be “done up” during labour has also been interrogated. Back in 2019, a survey by beauty discovery website Cosmetify found that 64 per cent of British women aged 18 to 31 got beauty treatments before going into labour. Such pre-birth bookings include manicures, pedicures, spray tans, blow-dries and hair removal, among others. But the pressure to wear makeup specifically was revealed with 68 per cent of women (and 77 per cent of 18-32 year olds) saying they felt the “need” to put on a full face while giving birth. And it’s likely those numbers will increase as #birthingmakeup posts continue to be shared across socials.

For a little context, videos and images under the hashtag range from simple “GRWM while in labour” clips showing mums-to-be putting on foundation to the more labour-intensive (no pun intended) action of applying fake lashes. TikTok creator Lae Harris went viral after she shared a one-minute video of her effortlessly contouring her face, lip-lining and gluing lashes while 8.5cm dilated. Basically, second stage labour. “I did my own makeup before birthing my baby. I wanted her to meet the queen in full face,” she captioned the post, which now has more than 12.9 million views and 3.5 million likes.

Then closer to home, and perhaps more dramatically, Gold Coast makeup artist Tegan Woodford revealed to Instagram that she last-minute flew interstate to do her sister-in-laws birthing makeup. “3 days ago I got a phone call from my sis in law at 2am saying she had her first contraction. So I jumped on the next plane out of Adelaide to be by her side ASAP!” Woodford captioned a birthing makeup post.

Is it safe to wear makeup while giving birth?

Whether you go all out with a winged liner or opt for a “fresh” and blemish-free look as Alex Fevola said she’s done during her birthing makeup bookings, is it actually safe to wear any makeup during childbirth? For the most part, it is. Dr Stephanie Hack, a board-certified US obstetrician and gynaecologist told Allure it’s perfectly okay to have a full face during or after the birthing process. Although, she stresses that mothers should reconsider wearing fake nails as they can interfere with hospital equipment like oxygen monitoring devices. Other makeup concerns in the birthing suite include the use of excessive foundation, with midwife Lori recently telling Mamamia it can mask how a patient is feeling.

“I am a nurse and we can see so much from the colour of your face. I can usually tell that my patient is about to have a chuck or that they’re low on oxygen (before I can get my monitoring on them), just from looking at the colour of their face. We also look at your skin for signs of drug reactions.”

She continued: “When birthing, having to go to the theatre for an emergency caesarian is a possibility, and all that makeup just gets in the way…and if you need to be put under general anaesthetic, we need to apply tape to your skin over your eyes. If you have eye makeup or even fake lashes on, that’ll all get smudged and increases your risk of corneal scratches.”

Is birthing makeup just putting on more beauty pressure for women?

Irrespective of how pervasive birthing makeup is (and continues to become), not everyone is on board with it. Comments on social media posts range from “you’re goals” praise to downright hate. After UK Love Island star Hannah Elizabeth announced the birth of her son Reggie to Instagram with a bouncy blow out, false lashes and matte pink lipstick—she was inundated with negative comments.

One person wrote: “Got dolled up to have a wain…disgusting,” while another said: “I love you but this is such an unrealistic display of what birth really is for most women. I see so many women have commented saying they wished they look [sic] like this when they gave birth but no one looks like this, not even you, hence the makeup. Please do other women a favour and just post yourself as you are next time.” While the reality star did see some supporters defend her decision—“it’s HER body, HER choice, HER life” (absolutely in agreeance)—does the very act of sharing your birthing makeup look online unintentionally make others feel worse for not following suit? Or even, reconsider their self-worth via comparison?

While positive in nature, other comments on Elizabeth’s post saw mums criticise themselves when referring to their labour looks. “You always look perfect actually jealous i looked like a zombie after both my c sections but they was emergency ones not planned lol,” one user wrote.

Alex Fevola, who’s very much of the “you do what feels right for you” opinion, says birthing makeup encourages self-care, empowerment, and most importantly, choice. The makeup artist and wife to prominent ex-AFL player Brendan Fevola told Bazaar she wore makeup during the birth of her fourth and youngest daughter Tobi as she wanted to look and feel her best. “I knew there would be a lot of photos and videos and I wanted to look and feel myself,” she said of her scheduled C-section. “There’s absolutely no reason why anyone should be made to feel like it’s ‘wrong’ to wear a little make-up the day you meet your baby for the first time.”

Aside from negative self-reflection, other critics of birthing makeup claim covering up devalues the sometimes intense experience of childbirth and reinforces the notion that women must look pretty even in pain. A prime example, being the obligatory post-baby photo-opps the royals are expected to do. Back in 2018, Keira Knightley controversially criticised Kate Middleton’s seemingly perfect baby appearances out the front of St. Mary’s Hospital during an essay in Scarlett Curtis’s Feminists Don’t Wear Pink and Other Lies. In comparing her vernix-and-blood-filled experience, which saw her “vagina split,” Knightley called it unrealistic and unachievable for a lot of women to be like Kate and “out of hospital seven hours later with her face made up and high heels on.”

“Hide. Hide our pain, our bodies splitting, our breasts leaking, our hormones raging. Look beautiful. Look stylish, don’t show your battleground, Kate. Seven hours after your fight with life and death, seven hours after your body breaks open, and bloody, screaming life comes out. Don’t show. Don’t tell. Stand there with your girl and be shot by a pack of male photographers.”

On the royal family, Fevola said she understands why the women end up looking picture-perfect. “Those photos are shared with millions of people so why wouldn’t they want to look fresh?” In her opinion, putting on makeup before or after labour doesn’t fuel unrealistic beauty standards nor does it undermine how gruelling labour is.

“Anyone who has given birth knows that nothing can undermine the experience. There’s no rule book that says you must look dishevelled after giving birth!” Fevola began. “We are all different and that’s ok, for some it’s important to look their best on such a momentous occasion and for others it wouldn’t even cross their mind, why do we feel we should impress our views and feelings on each other? It’s our own magical experience and it should be done in our own way.”

Whether the post-birth glow comes from within or a little highlighter, we should should avoid judging one’s beauty decisions—even if it’s as in your face as a dozen Instagram Stories. As women we should openly support one another, especially when it comes to the largely patriarchal idea of femininity and beauty. If it makes a woman feel more normal to wear cosmetics after one of the most intense experiences of their life, then why not? The art of makeup is a labour of love, after all. Pun intended.

“Giving birth is one of the biggest events in a woman’s life, as big as a wedding day, so why wouldn’t you want to look and feel good? We know there will be so many photos taken on this momentous day and no one wants to dislike their first photos with their baby. So, if it’s important to you, then do it,” Fevola said.

What makeup should I wear during labour?

If you’re wanting to wear makeup during childbirth, Alex Fevola has a few cosmetic recommendations for mothers. She advises women wear “weightless and breathable” products such as BB creams or her Face Base Foundation with a cream blush or Runway Room’s glow pack as the “perfect” addition to any hospital bag.

“It obviously needs to be non-toxic and as clean as possible, as you are going to want to kiss that baby a lot! Natural and fresh is my take on birthing make up, I personally would choose to avoid anything too heavy and cakey. Just enough to give you the glow of confidence.”

This piece originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar Australia