Kathryn Eisman explores the latest baby shower trend sweeping through America and asks if this is the latest symptom of a culture of over-sharers?
By Kathryn Eisman.
Once upon a time, an ultrasound was a sacred moment between Doctor and Mum and Dad to be. The tiny heart beating at a million miles a minute, the contours of a growing face, the dreamlike man on the moon movements of tiny arms and legs suspended in an untouched, both surreal and real but above all else, intimate.
Fast forward to 2013 and a new trend is literally lifting the blue curtain on the pre-natal ultra-sound. Turning this most private medical examination into group activity for family, friends and anyone willing to go in on a jumpsuit.
“Baby Viewing Parties” are become the latest craze replacing the traditional Baby Shower. The thinking being, why settle for a boring old baby shower when you can see the baby bathing in it’s own amniotic fluid?!
The trend, now in many major cities across America, found popularity in Fort Meyers, Florida- the same State that brings you Disney World. And make no mistake it’s latest 3D experience is no less thrilling.
After the traditional baby shower games have been played, and pretty presents have been unwrapped, Mum sprawls in front of an ultrasound machine as curious guests crowd around the screen to get a first glimpse of the foetus. Depending on just how into “over-sharing” Mum is, she can expose her beautiful big belly or be covered by a blue curtain while a technician performs an ultrasound for the entire party to see, in the 3 and 4D. Guests cheer, oooh and aah while busily trying to figure out if they’re looing at an arm or another well developed piece of anatomy- all while sipping mojito’s and tucking into finger sandwiches.
Chad and Camie Berry, a husband and wife team in Fort Meyers, Florida, start their sonogram service, Miracle Imaging, sighting their own miracle baby- now 14- as the reason. After suffering five devastating miscarriages, they wanted to share the news of their baby with the world.
Their company now offers numerous packages ranging from “Gender Reveal” sonogram for $179 to the full “Shower Package” in a home or party venue for $249.
And while some say it’s a fun way to share the unfolding miracle of pregnancy with the people you love others, others warn that getting an ultrasound away from a doctor’s supervision for reasons other than medical necessity may expose the fetus to unnecessary radiation.
There’s also the question of a public ultrasound missing any potentially dangerous abnormalities, or the very real danger of it detecting one such as a weak heart beat (or none at all) and the party ending in devastating heartbreak.
My thoughts are that it’s a cute idea, and I understand the desire to share your little star with those you love. But perhaps we should allow the star the last few months of privacy and the dignity of choosing when they will be introduced to the world- and at the end of nine months sounds like a good enough time to me.
Twitter: @kathryneisman
