When beekeeper Bethany Karulak-Baker, 38, from the United States, planned the pregnancy photo shoot, it was only natural that her work would be represented in some way. However, what drew attention in the photos was the fact that the pregnant woman appeared to have 10,000 bees in her belly.
Bethany and her husband, Perry, run a company that produces honey and would like this important part of their lives to be represented as well. However, it wasn’t just that. In a post on Facebook, her mother says that the photo shoot was also a way to challenge herself after some problems she faced in the past.
“About a year ago, I had an extremely ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀᴛɪᴄ ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ,” she says. Bethany says ʟᴏsɪɴɢ a child has had a sᴇʀɪᴏᴜs impact on her mental health. When she became pregnant again, she felt very scared and couldn’t tell friends and family that she was expecting a child.
In recent months, the global situation has worsened the anguish and uncertainties. Nevertheless, the family has come together more. “We as a family have come to love and support each other more than I could have imagined,” she says.
With eight months of gestation, they decided to do a photo shoot to commemorate this moment and gathered thousands of bees for it. For the British website Metro, Bethany says she has an allergy to bees, but the idea was cleared by doctors.
So they chose a more docile and easy-to-handle species and made 10 tries until they got the perfect shot. “They stayed there for 30 minutes until we took all the pictures,” she said.
Bethany says that the repercussion of her photo on social media was positive and very “kind and loving”. “Many women have shared their experiences of ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ, and some people have ordered honey from our company.” She commented that she also received negative comments from people who don’t understand beekeeping.