The new vogue: Bikini wax, spray tan, blow dry... The women who have makeovers to GIVE BIRTH

There's a photo that takes pride of place on Kate Harrison's living room wall. It shows her looking stunning - creamy highlights in her hair, French-manicured nails, a glowing tan, perfectly arched eyebrows and a radiant smile.

But it's not a wedding portrait and it wasn't taken on holiday. 

Instead, it was snapped just seconds after she gave birth to her younger son, William, whom she proudly cradles in her arms. He is so new you can see he's not even been cleaned up by the midwives.

In the past, women accepted that the rigours of labour - which can last days and be physically demanding - were unlikely to leave them looking their best. But, increasingly, new mums want to look like they've just stepped out of a beauty salon instead of a maternity ward after they give birth.

Take Coleen Rooney, for example. When she gave birth to her second son Klay last month, within hours she'd posted a photo on Twitter looking not only radiantly happy, but also glossy maned, perfectly tanned and manicured, and immaculately made up.

But it's not just wealthy celebrity mothers such as Coleen who are making sure they look amazing after birth. A growing number of middle-class women are taking advantage of pre-birth beauty packages at their local salons. Others are ensuring they are immaculately groomed for photos by indulging in a D-Day (that's Delivery Day) makeover.

Kate, 32, a stay at home mother from Lymm in Cheshire who is married to Richard, a construction company owner, happily admits she went to town before William was born two years ago.

'I knew I was having a Caesarean section on a Tuesday, so the Saturday before, I booked a full day of pampering and beauty treatments,' she says. 'I had a haircut and my roots done, a St Tropez spray tan, a French manicure and a pedicure, a bikini and leg wax, an eyebrow shape and my eyelashes tinted,' she says.

'I was really pleased with the results and how I looked in the photographs after William was born.'

It was a stark contrast to how she had looked after her eldest son Charlie, now four, came into the world. Then, she put on six stone in weight during pregnancy and was hospitalised for the last month with suspected pre-eclampsia.

'I was totally unprepared for the birth,' she says. 'There wasn't an opportunity to pluck my eyebrows, let alone have my hair done.'

Has labour become less painful or has these women found a way of turning all things around for good, even labour?. Cool.