Beautiful and Expecting: Celebrity Moms Reveal Their Unrealistic 'Bumps'

May 23, 2007 — -- In 1991, a naked and pregnant Demi Moore appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, shattering a sacred illusion that childbirth is a time to conceal, rather than reveal, a mother's condition.

But the Hollywood siren's perfect shape set in motion another dangerous misconception: that women can achieve perfection in both pregnancy and parenthood.

"We're all for celebration of the pregnant shape, but the sexification of pregnancy comes at a price," said Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris, whose childbirth guide, "From the Hips," hit bookstores on May 22.

The New York City authors -- both young, hip mothers who were confused by mixed messages in their own pregnancies -- embarked on a three-year project to offer readers a balanced perspective on maternity and child rearing.

Their mantra, as stated in 10 "anti-rules," is "strive for imperfection."

In this celebrity-driven culture -- where Britney Spears is chided for riding around town with her infant in her lap and Angelina Jolie bounces back to her slender figure sans "bump" just weeks after childbirth -- there's plenty of judgment thrown at mothers, the authors say.

"We live in this really highly body-conscious culture, and women feel the pressure to be physically perfect," said Odes, an artist and former indie rocker who now has two young children. "In the past, women were expected to hide their bodies, but [what] comes along with the freedom to be beautiful is the pressure to be beautiful."

Their guide -- filled with a variety of perspectives on hot-button issues like breast-feeding, co-sleeping, circumcision and, yes, looking fabulous postpartum -- removes the judgment and embraces the notion of being "good enough."

"This book is about both sides of the story: the warm, fuzzy baby blanket and the poop that gets swept underneath," its introduction promises.