By now it’s probably pretty obvious that you haven’t just had a big sourdough-based lunch (although it’s highly possible that you’ve been enjoying a lot of bread AND your pregnancy, of course. They don’t call it a bun in the oven for nothing). Plus, you might be finding that your energy levels are pretty good right now.
Therefore, it’s a good point in pregnancy to start planning social stuff you’d like to get up to before the baby comes - and one of those events might well be your baby shower.
While the modern day baby shower came out of the 1950s baby boom in the US, the tradition of giving a pregnant woman lots of fuss and presents ahead of the birth is long-established, with numerous traditions across the globe dating back centuries - for instance, there’s an ancient Hindu tradition called seemantha in which the expectant mother would be gifted lots of dried fruits and sweets to help with the baby’s growth, alongside music and prayers.
The UK is relatively recent to get on the baby shower train, partly because in ye olden days, pregnancy had to be treated with discretion, with the birth of the baby being the first many friends and family would hear of it. Imagine!
But a lot has changed. Now around half of new parents in the UK throw baby showers - or, more often, have them thrown for them. But not everyone’s keen - so we thought we’d give you the low down on the trend to help you make an informed decision (that’s if you have any say in the matter whatsoever, of course - quite a lot of baby showers are a total surprise! So if you really, really don’t want one, we’d suggest making it very clear to your friends, family, in-laws… and over-excited Jacqui in Payroll).