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| Kirsten Seinfeld puts finishing touches on a belly cast. |
Our bodies are beautiful—and perfect—the way they are. This is the message of the pregnancy belly cast, a commemorative keepsake of motherhood that’s become very popular. Check out belly cast Google images, or Pinterest, and you’ll see dozens of belly cast examples, often created right at home by moms- and dads-to-be. They range from whimsical (adorned with feather boas and butterflies) to humorous (the round belly is painted like a baseball) and irreverent (a monkey’s nose becomes the protruding belly button).
Fort Lauderdale artist Kirsten Seinfeld would like to elevate the pregnancy belly cast to high art. She envisions one day having a show with twenty bellies, or more, on display in a gallery. She’s already well on her way, with dozens of casts hanging in her living room. Seinfeld is known in South Florida as the go-to girl for an incredible belly cast—and she’s been known to give moms a price break if she can do two castings, one to keep for her private (future gallery) collection.
For Seinfeld, belly casting can contribute to a woman’s positive self image. “I do believe that our bodies are perfect the way they are and that we should be proud and respectful of our bodies….It’s so amazing how resilient we all are—that our bodies grow to accommodate the baby and provide it with all it needs,” she says.
Seinfeld has two girls, so she says she didn’t have to face the tough decision of circumcision. Nevertheless, she says it would certainly be very hard for her to inflict such pain on a brand new human being.
Beyond the Bris hopes that as women celebrate their own bodies during pregnancy (with the belly cast and in other ways) they will also be respectful of their future sons’ bodies, which are perfect just as they are!
