‘I’M SO PROUD OF WHAT MY BODY CAN DO’

Alexandra Meyer, 29, lives in Essex with her husband, Dan, and their seven-week-old daughter, Minna. She says, “I was overjoyed when I found out that I was pregnant in

May 2020, but at five weeks and six days, I miscarried. It was painful – both physically and mentally – and I struggled with the fact that we hadn’t even announced our pregnancy yet. It was as though our baby never existed.

“That’s why, when I fell pregnant again in July 2020, I knew I wanted to do something to remember this pregnancy, and the way my body was changing.

“During my second trimester, a friend of mine showed me a nude portrait she’d had commissioned of herself by an artist she’d found on Instagram called Bronagh Genovesi. Her company, Wyld & Womanli, is all about celebrating the female form in all its shapes and sizes.

“It was an incredible message, and I decided to get my own nude portrait done. I asked Dan to take pictures of me for Bronagh to paint – he was surprised at first, but keen for me to do whatever would make me feel most at ease during the pregnancy.

“When the final piece arrived, I was speechless. It was so bright and beautiful

– I couldn’t quite believe it was me. And if I ever felt down about getting bigger, the picture made me smile.

“Then, in December 2020, another friend got me a bump plaster cast kit and once again, I roped in Dan to help, and we spent an hilarious afternoon making a perfect cast of my boobs and bump.

“Our daughter, Minna, arrived in

March 2021, and she’s perfect. I still have the positive pregnancy test from May last year, proof that I carried another child before Minna. Along with my portrait and cast, they’re a reminder of times I never want to forget.”

● Visit etsy.com/uk/shop/WyldnWomanli or follow Bronagh on Instagram @wyld_n_ womanli