Bikini wax, spray tan, blow dry... The women who have makeovers to GIVE BIRTH

Camera phones make it possible for immediate photos of new mums



But many of them are increasingly feeling they have to look their best



Salons have 10% increase in requests for pre-birth beauty treatments



There's a photo that takes pride of place on Kate Harrison's living room wall. It shows her looking stunning - creamy highlights in her hair, French-manicured nails, a glowing tan, perfectly arched eyebrows and a radiant smile.



But it's not a wedding portrait and it wasn't taken on holiday.



Instead, it was snapped just seconds after she gave birth to her younger son, William, whom she proudly cradles in her arms. He is so new you can see he's not even been cleaned up by the midwives.



D-Day glamour: Kate Harrison, 32, just after giving birth to William, and mother and son together two years later



In the past, women accepted that the rigours of labour - which can last days and be physically demanding - were unlikely to leave them looking their best. But, increasingly, new mums want to look like they've just stepped out of a beauty salon instead of a maternity ward after they give birth.



Take Coleen Rooney, for example. When she gave birth to her second son Klay last month, within hours she'd posted a photo on Twitter looking not only radiantly happy, but also glossy maned, perfectly tanned and manicured, and immaculately made up.



But it's not just wealthy celebrity mothers such as Coleen who are making sure they look amazing after birth. A growing number of middle-class women are taking advantage of pre-birth beauty packages at their local salons. Others are ensuring they are immaculately groomed for photos by indulging in a D-Day (that's Delivery Day) makeover.

Kate, 32, a stay at home mother from Lymm in Cheshire who is married to Richard, a construction company owner, happily admits she went to town before William was born two years ago.



'I knew I was having a Caesarean section on a Tuesday, so the Saturday before, I booked a full day of pampering and beauty treatments,' she says. 'I had a haircut and my roots done, a St Tropez spray tan, a French manicure and a pedicure, a bikini and leg wax, an eyebrow shape and my eyelashes tinted,' she says.

'I was really pleased with the results and how I looked in the photographs after William was born.'



Committed: Heather Greig, 29, with Elvissa. Heather put on a layer of tan while in labour and wore high heels to the hospital

It was a stark contrast to how she had looked after her eldest son Charlie, now four, came into the world. Then, she put on six stone in weight during pregnancy and was hospitalised for the last month with suspected pre-eclampsia.



'I was totally unprepared for the birth,' she says. 'There wasn't an opportunity to pluck my eyebrows, let alone have my hair done.'



Then, when she did go into labour, she needed an emergency Caesarean section because after 24 hours of agonising contractions her labour 'failed to progress'.



Charlie's traumatic arrival had a profound effect on her self-confidence.



Kate explains: 'There are no photos of me for the first six months of Charlie's life.



'Straight after his birth, I was so out of it from the labour and the painkillers, my husband had to hold him for his first pictures. I felt so self-conscious and unhappy with the way I looked that I hid from the camera.



'I wasn't a mum who proudly pushed her baby up and down the road. I stayed indoors because I was so miserable about the way I looked.'



Kate eventually shed the weight she'd put on and returned to her natural size 10, but she says: 'I was sad that I didn't have any memories of those early months because there were no photos of me to remind me.



Mother-daughter duo: Heather with Elvissa

'So when I got pregnant again, I decided I wasn't going to leave anything to chance. I wanted to be in the photos this time, and to feel good about myself.



'And I wanted to do something just for me, have a little pampering time, because I knew once the baby arrived that that wouldn't be possible.



'It was also about having a little bit of control when you're in a situation where you don't get much control.'



Beauticians across the country have noticed a marked increase in the number of women asking for pre-birth beauty overhauls.



The Michaeljohn hair and beauty salon chain in London, for example, has recorded a ten per cent increase in the past year in the number of pregnant women asking for treatments so they can look their best when they give birth.



Penny McQue is head of the company's Mayfair Medispa. She says traditional pre-birth treatments such as bikini waxing and pedicures remain at the top of expectant mums' requests, but that more sophisticated procedures offering long-lasting effects are gaining popularity.



Their clients are increasingly asking for pregnancy-friendly permanent blow dry treatments (some contain formaldehyde which expectant mothers prefer to avoid because of fears over toxic side-effects) that keep hair looking smooth and glossy for up to 14 weeks, and spray tans.



Long-lasting gel and shellac manicures are preferred over a traditional 'file and polish' as they can last for three to four weeks. (Women having C-sections should take note that they have to remove all coloured polish so anaesthetists can see nail beds and check oxygen is circulating properly.)



Penny puts the rise of the D-Day makeover down to the growth in popularity of camera phones, which have made it possible to take a photo and share it with the world instantly through Facebook and Twitter.



Gone are the days when a new mum waited until she had recovered from her exertions, then put on her best dress and carefully applied her face to pose for baby's first photo.



Penny adds celebrities like Coleen are also driving the trend.



She says: 'Celebrity mums who pose for magazines looking perfect with their new babies, or who post photos on Twitter looking glam straight after giving birth, are also influencing how women feel they ought to look.'







'Some people might say it's being vain, but having the beauty treatments all done beforehand meant I could concentrate my attention completely on my baby girl when she arrived.'



She adds that for many women, childbirth is a time when they are their most physically vulnerable and exposed, so gain confidence from knowing they look their best.



While there are some who will feel appearance should be the last thing on a woman's mind at this life-changing time, others insist there's no shame in wanting to present a beautiful face to the world.



Heather Greig, 29, from Birstall, near Leeds, says she not only had a full beauty overhaul in advance of giving birth to daughter Eivissa, now 21 months old, she even put on another layer of tan while in labour and wore high heels into hospital. She admits she shared photos of herself and her daughter with friends within a few hours of Eivissa's birth.



Heather, who is married to fellow fashion designer Daniel, says: 'You only have one chance to get those first photos with your first child.



'Like a wedding, you can't go back and repeat the experience, and I didn't want to look as if I'd been dragged through a hedge in the first picture of me and my baby. It was something I wanted to be able to treasure.



'So like preparing for a wedding, a few days before my due date, I had my nails done, a fake tan and hair extensions put in.



She adds: 'Some people might say it's being vain, but having the beauty treatments all done beforehand meant I could concentrate my attention completely on my baby girl when she arrived.

'Though I admit I did take my hair straighteners into hospital with me and give my hair a quick straighten after the birth.



'I also think it helped me stay calm. Because I work in the fashion world I like to look good anyway. Being true to myself helped me stay more in control of the experience.



Labour? What labour? Jo Swidzinska, 27, around two hours after giving irth to Jack

'It all helped me feel relaxed, which in turn enabled me to have a birth that I enjoyed.



'I even wore 3in slingbacks into hospital and made my own birth outfit - a bikini style top and short skirt - because I was desperate for a water birth and wouldn't have felt comfortable being completely naked. I call them “Glabour” outfits, and now sell them to other pregnant women.'



Jo Swidzinska, 27, from Purley, Surrey, planned her pre-birth beauty regime like a military operation when she gave birth to son Jack, now two.



The ballet teacher, who has since separated from Jack's father, admits she is naturally insecure about her looks, so left nothing to chance. 'The thought of visitors coming to the hospital and seeing me looking anything but ok was a nightmare,' she says.



'I had eyelash extensions about a month before my due date because you need to lie on your back to have them done and that is very uncomfortable when you are heavily pregnant,' she says.



She also made sure her highlights, which she has done every six weeks, were up to date.



Then, a couple of weeks before her due date, she had a gel manicure, as well as a pedicure.



'Because I wasn't able to bend over to reach the areas I also had a lower leg and bikini wax,' she adds.



'Luckily I had a summer birth so I didn't need a fake tan because I was able to spend my maternity leave sitting in the sun in the garden.



'And my mum took me for a pampering day at a spa and I had a facial and relaxation massage.'



Pleased with the final results, she says her hard work was worth it: 'In my post-birth photos, I don't think I look too bad considering I'd just had a 9lb 11oz baby naturally after 12 hours of labour throughout the night.'



But get the timing wrong and it can backfire. While Penny McQue says most of her clients have their D-Day makeovers a month before they're due to give birth, others leave it too late.



Take Cheryl Hurstwaite. When the 34-year-old from Bromley, South London, was expecting daughter Karys, now three, she booked herself a D-Day makeover two days before her due date - manicure, pedicure, bikini and leg waxing and a spray tan. But she went into labour five days early.



However, she was not to be beaten. Determined she would still look her best, she dived into the bath at home and in between contractions, washed her hair and shaved her legs and bikini area.



Mother and son: Jo planned her pre-birth beauty regime like a military operation

By the time she got out, the pains were excruciating and coming every five minutes. Undaunted, she refused to admit defeat and attempted to straighten her hair and apply fake tan.



But with the tan haphazardly smeared on and only half her hair dried, she could take the agony no longer and had to make a mad dash to hospital.



Cheryl says: 'I was nine-and-a-half centimetres dilated by the time I got there, and you start pushing the baby out at 10cm, so I had left it to the last minute.



'I must have looked ridiculous and my boyfriend found it hilarious. By the time I had given birth I looked bright orange and my hair was a frizzy mess, hardly the look I'd imagined.



'I wouldn't allow any photos to be taken of me as I was so embarrassed at the sight of myself, but I suppose I was able to give the friends and family who came to visit me a good laugh. I definitely won't leave it so late next time.'

It's a reminder that, unlike a beauty regime, a baby's arrival is something few women can control. Thankfully, at least, newborns don't care what their mummies look like.

