Pregnancy photos: To post or not to post

Social media has become a place where most if not everyone posts about their achievements or whatever is happening in their lives.

Initially, this was preserved for celebrities or people perceived to be popular and wanted to keep their followers and fans abreast with their lives.

However, over the years, this trend has been adopted by majority of the social media users, especially expectant women who flash photos of their bellies or their infants

Recently, it is alleged that a woman from Kiambu discovered a small coffin with new baby clothes at her homestead a few days after posting her baby bump on Facebook.

The unnamed woman is said to have posted photos of her six months’ pregnancy where she received congratulatory messages from her online friends.

The following day, she woke up to the events that many described as sorcery aimed at causing harm to her pregnancy, which forced her to delete the photos.

To most women, posting their baby bumps is just for fun and they genuinely want to share the joy of becoming a mother.

However, for some, images of their pregnancies, infants or children are a no go-zone.

Ibrahim Mwakamba believes some parts of his personal and family lives should remain private and not exposed to social media.

“I cannot allow my wife to post a photo of pregnancy on social media or even our children. That is bringing people into our lives, “he says.

Different intentions

He says people on social media have different intentions, beliefs and understanding one cannot control how they will receive such news.

“When you post, there are people who will be happy for your coming bundle of joy, but there is another lot which will not be happy. You cannot predict what they can do,” he says.

Mwakamba says some of the comments geared towards the expectant women might be bad omen and bring harm to them and their unborn babies.

He says for the people who have hatred and are jealous might as well go extra miles to ensure the joy is taken away by involving witchcraft.

“There are comments which are made online which people take lightly but they are like curses. You later find that woman losing the child or the pregnancy. These are grounds enough for one not to post, not only pregnancy images, but their achievements on social media. Not everyone is happy with the steps you are making, “he says.

Mwakamba says, traditionally, pregnancy was a private issue between the couple, their in-laws and few friends around the village.

But the current trend has been to invite strangers who, despite not knowing the poster, might want to determine how the child is brought up.

Spiritual connection

Winnie Miseda, a religious minister says there is no religious connection between the online posting and some of the things that happen to the expectant woman after posting her baby bumps online.

She says some of these are just superstitions, which people who believe in God do not subscribe to.

“There are people who feel it is not right but for me, I do not see a problem with that. As long as your intentions are pure, you can post whatever you want,” she says.

Miseda says some of the women post due to excitement after waiting for years for a baby and that is their way of giving testimony while some do that as a way of making others jealous or proving them wrong.

She says that despite all the intentions, such posts might not be received well by people, especially those who might be struggling with infertility.

“There are people who have struggled for years but in vain then they see you post the pregnancy of a third born while they do not have even the first one. We should be considerate especially if you have such people in your circles,” she says.

The spiritual leader says though isolated, there are some who might use such photos in seeking ritualistic interventions in destroying the life of the expectant mother.

Miseda says for Christians, they should learn to invoke God’s name before posting such photos to cover themselves.

“The photos should also be decent so as not to attract negativity and harsh comments. Let them be photos that people can just appreciate and congratulate them and not sneer, “she notes.

A recent study by United Kingdom lecturer Joanne Mayoh shows social media posts, especially of celebrities always communicate unrealistic expectations for pregnant women.

The Bournemouth University lecturer says such postings show the positive side of pregnancy, which then creates unrealistic expectations about what pregnancy or parenting is like.

Mayoh notes that social media adds another layer of anxiety as parents try to navigate how to best care for themselves and their children when it comes to pregnancy and parenting and seeing endless picture-perfect images of new parents and their babies can make it feel like there’s some ideal-models one is not following when is really sense, that is not the case.