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In 2022, Ms. Panashe Muteedzi liked some photos of a pregnant celebrity on Facebook.
There is evidence to be cautious
A few days later, the mother of two girls saw a stranger’s pregnancy photo and she “liked” it again.
At that moment, she decided to do a photo shoot for her next pregnancy.
“Due to the coronavirus lockdown, I wasn’t able to take maternity photos of my first child. But now I can,” Ms Mutiz said.
She said she wanted to document her pregnancy journey for her unborn child to see.
“When my child is older, I can show her through photos the various stages of her pregnancy,” she said.
Ms. Mutzi said most of the photos she saw on social media were semi-nude, with women wearing only skimpy lace clothing or with their midriffs exposed, but because of her faith, she wanted to take a photo that was fully covered.
“I was born into a Christian family. My father is a pastor. I have no problem with people who take nude photos of pregnant women; it’s their choice and they have their reasons,” she said.
Zimbabwe is not lagging behind in the global trend of pregnancy photoshoots.
The photos range from fully clothed photos to photos showing a baby bump, all the way to completely nude photos.
Through these shoots, women can celebrate motherhood and their pregnancy journeys, and have these moments captured forever in the hands of professional photographers.
However, the growing practice conflicts with cultural norms around pregnancy, which is seen as a private matter and women do not share the news publicly for fear of inviting bad luck.
Many religious people, elders and those who support traditional values condemn pregnant women having their pictures taken because they believe that flouting the taboo invites misfortune and provides an opportunity for enemies and witches to tamper with the pregnancy, resulting in miscarriage, complications or stillbirth.
They say African culture considers pregnancy to be sacred and should be kept private.
In the past, news of a woman’s pregnancy became public knowledge only after the birth was announced.
As photographer Calvin Thom explains, in the digital age, people are copying trends from around the world – often set by influential celebrities.
In late 2023, a set of maternity photos taken by socialite and fitness trainer Michelina Chindiya sparked admiration and anger among Zimbabweans online, with some praising the photos for their beauty and others mocking her for going against traditional norms.
“There is a saying in Shona: ‘Mozotaura rwendo madzoka’ which means that you declare your journey only when you return. This saying is very suitable for this theme,” said Mr George Kandilo, chairman of the Zimbabwe National Association of Traditional Healers.
“Announcing a pregnancy invites bad luck. People who didn’t know you were pregnant now know, and they can do what they want with you and the pregnancy. Not everyone is going to be happy for you.”
Changing attitudes
In 1991 – before the advent of social media – American celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz photographed a naked, pregnant actress Demi Moore for the cover of a popular magazine.
Decades later, maternity photos have become a trend around the world, with global music icon Beyoncé and tennis star Serena Williams, among others, posting maternity photos of themselves. These two photos were taken of Rihanna in 2017 and 2022 respectively.
Mr David Mutambirwa, a traditional leader of the royal family who also runs a trust that advocates and promotes heritage and cultural preservation, said from a moral and cultural point of view, pregnancy is sacred and should be concealed until it is obvious.
“That’s why maternity clothes are loose fitting so they cover the body comfortably.
Publicizing your pregnancy may create opportunities for harm to others.
By making your pregnancy public, you are showing that person your status and giving them room to tamper with it,” Mr Mutanbilwa said.
Ms Mutiz said people close to her did not realise she was pregnant until she was six months along and could no longer hide it.
Throughout, she wore baggy clothing to hide her pregnancy.
“I purposely did my maternity shoot at eight months,” she said.
Before giving birth, she only shared photos with a handful of people who already knew she was pregnant. “I only released it to the public after the baby was born,” she said.
On the other hand, Ms Naomi Takawira posted a picture of herself before giving birth which she said made her mother worried.
She did the maternity shoot at 34 weeks pregnant.
This was her first pregnancy and she wanted to keep the photos to look back on her pregnancy journey in the future.
After the shoot, she posted her pictures on WhatsApp.
“My mother was against it because, as an older person, she had some misconceptions about pregnancy and therefore had reservations about it,” she said.
Now, her child is over one year old.
“When I see him and these pictures, I see a miracle and I’m so happy that I have this miracle of health,” she said.
Getting more adventurous
Photographer Thom said that since his first maternity photo shoot in 2019, the number of maternity photo shoots he has taken has increased.
He said he has taken more than 100 photos so far, including several nude ones.
From then on, he stopped holding nude shows for women.
He was uncomfortable with deviating from cultural norms.
He also didn’t want to be part of these shoots because his watermark would appear on the photos he took.
“People are copying trends and we get crazy requests for shoots copied from the internet every day. It’s not surprising that we get requests for bathroom photo shoots very quickly because people want to document everything,” Thom said.
He added that it was more than just pregnancy.
Through social media, people want to document almost every stage of their lives.
“I’ve met people who have taken a photo every month for all nine months of pregnancy, and recently some have even wanted to document the actual birth.”
Thom said he once received a nude photo of an expectant mother when she was nine months pregnant, and a nude photo of the baby after it was born, both of which were inspired by a photo on the Internet.
He still gets a lot of requests for nude photo shoots, but he’s set limits.
“The extremes I take are covering my breasts and private parts … or not covering my abdomen. Beyond that, I won’t do anything else,” he said.
Thom said social media has a positive impact on daily life, but can sometimes go against the culture.
“We have neglected our own culture in the process of adopting Western culture.”
Cultural shift
Mr. Candillo, the physician, said that traditionally, pregnant women were considered sacred.
“That’s why the Shona have certain rituals and prohibitions, like not attending funerals. It’s to protect the babies.”
Candillo said that culturally, women’s bodies should not be exposed in any way, especially on social media where anyone can see them.
He added that events celebrating the birth of a baby such as gender reveal parties, baby showers and baby receptions were also not part of Zimbabwean culture.
“We should not accept a culture that is not ours. I am not saying that all accidents happen because people stop following traditions. But when you go against traditions and culture, the chances of accidents are higher,” Mr Candillo said.
Ms Elena Masonda, 89, said in her day, public announcement of a pregnancy was unheard of.
“In our days, we wore baggy clothes and no one knew who was pregnant. We were taught not to tell anyone,” Ms Masonda said.
Ms Muteedzi said seeing herself pregnant was a wonderful memory.
“These images symbolize a complete woman, motherhood and the gift of life. The fact that a complete person was growing inside of me as I took these photos is truly a miracle,” she said.
“One day my child will see how she came into this world,” she added as she rocked the cooing baby up and down in her arms.
Evidence Chenjerai is a Global News Magazine correspondent based in Mutare, Zimbabwe.
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