
As a maternity model, you can show off your new curves, share your happiness with the world, and make a little extra money for your future child. Here’s everything you need to know to get started as a pregnancy model. Remember, you only have nine months to do this, so don’t waste any time!
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A maternity model is a pregnant person who poses for images and videos to advertise products and services. This can involve anything from modeling maternity clothing and accessories to appearing as part of an expectant family.
Maternity models are actually pregnant. It is considered bad form to fake a pregnant belly, and since one cannot be pregnant all the time, companies advertising maternity products and services need a steady stream of pregnant models.
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- Prenatal health: Maternity models must focus on their health and the health of their unborn children, and should heed the advice of their medical professionals. Models may be required to stand for hours on end or sit in difficult positions, which may be dangerous for those with gestational hypertension or other medical issues.
- Body changes: Whether it’s fluctuating bust size, fluid retention, or changes to hair, maternity models go through significant physical changes throughout their pregnancies beyond the bump. These changes should be considered for each gig.
- Poses: Model poses look a little different for pregnant models, who may need to adapt to different poses that work with their changing bodies, as well as showcasing their bellies.
- Temporality: Maternity models deal uniquely with issues of temporality, since they’re only pregnant for around nine months. This means they may need to hustle to land gigs even more than a traditional model—at least until the next time they’re pregnant.
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1. Start early
Don’t worry if you are early in your pregnancy. Companies need all shapes and sizes of bumps to promote their products. You may only be two or three months into your pregnancy, but that’s fine! People of all stages of pregnancy need to buy clothes. Plus, it gives catalogs time to seek you out and plan their layout so they’re ready when you are just the size they’re looking for.
2. Take photos
You don’t need pricey, high-fashion photos to get started as a maternity model—just make sure to show off your unique look and style, and that the photos emphasize your baby bump, no matter the size. “Businesses who use maternity models want to exude positivity, happiness, and good health, so their models should reflect that,” advises maternity specialist Yvonne de Salle. Because of the limited amount of time one has to show off a baby bump, you want to take photos as soon as possible.
3. Submit for gigs
Search for certain keywords, such as “maternity” and “pregnant,” to find relevant gigs on our comprehensive model casting database. The more gigs you land, the more robust a modeling portfolio you’ll have when submitting to agencies.
4. Connect online
Post images showcasing your pregnancy on Instagram with hashtags like #pregnant, #maternity, #maternityphotography, #pregnantfashion, #pregnantoutfit, and #maternitymodel. Follow other pregnant models and engage with the community as much as possible—you never know whose eye you might catch.
5. Find an agent
Modeling scout Vanessa Helmer explains that “pregnancy is an excellent time” to start your modeling career. Since maternity modeling has a finite lifespan, there is great turnover in the field, and a constant need for pregnant models. Agencies that actively represent and promote their pregnant models include:
Other agencies may represent pregnant models; check with agencies that promote inclusivity in their representation, or who specialize in niche markets. “Ford, Wilhelmina, Elite [agencies]—they’re not going to get all the calls” for pregnant models, says Liza Elliott-Ramirez, who started Expecting Models when she found she was getting passed over for work once she hit her second trimester. “That’s not their specialty.”
If you’re signed as a maternity model, some agencies will continue to help you book gigs once the baby is born for family modeling opportunities.
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Models who have made a name for themselves as maternity models include:
Many already-established models continue to walk the runway and grace magazine covers while pregnant. Jourdan Dunn walked the Spring 2010 Jean Paul Gauthier show while six months pregnant; Rafaella Fico was pregnant while she walked the Spring 2013 Jerry Tommolini show; and Lisa Haydon Lalvani was pregnant when she appeared on the cover of Elle India magazine. Irina Shayk, Heidi Klum, and Alessandra Ambrosio all walked the Victoria’s Secret runway show while in various stages of pregnancy—and Slick Woods walked the Savage x Fenty Winter 2018/2019 show while actively in labor.