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Now I've seen everything, I thought, on the morning I opened my Daily News to the features section and saw a photo of a pregnant woman having a plaster cast made of her rounded belly.

Wow, was I impressed! Having a baby these days makes a woman a star.

How times have changed. These days C-sections are popular because they can be done by appointment, like getting your hair done. Doctors like the convenience of a planned birth time. It frees them from middle-of-the-night deliveries.

Most doctors share their work time with partners so if you have a baby naturally you might not have it delivered by the doctor you've been seeing. In the delivery room, everyone is wearing masks, so how can you know for sure the identity of the baby's deliverer?

More women seem to be carrying larger babies these days. My younger grandson came out practically ready for kindergarten — at 9 pounds 4 ounces. His beautiful body was perfect as a result of the C-section.

On the other hand, I had three children naturally and they all arrived looking like they had spent 10 rounds in the boxing ring.

Are all caesareans necessary or are most of them just a convenience? Having a baby as nature intended is the safest and easiest way to do it, unless there are unusual circumstances affecting the baby's health or mother's health. A vaginal birth enables the mother to recuperate more rapidly than having her stomach cut open. It's safer and less expensive as well.

While my grandson's surgical birth put his mother out of commission for weeks, my babies' natural births enabled me to get home the day after delivery and get around without discomfort within a couple of days.

When did pregnancy come to be treated as an illness rather than a normal bodily function? And when did pregnancy become a matter of such great importance to the world?

Thousands of women give birth every day, and each baby puts a greater burden on the world's resources. All of the world's problems come from too many people. So what's the big deal about having a baby?

Yet here in the United States movie magazines dedicate entire issues to what seems like an epidemic of pregnant actresses. What are they doing that all of the rest of mothers haven't done —without the fanfare? Why are readers so agog at the fact that an actress has gotten herself with child?

Having a child may be another way to catch the public's attention. Once upon a time actresses kept their babies secret for fear it would diminish their attractiveness. Now it seems pregnancy is a badge of honor.

Male actors are getting in on the act as well. Both star parents are making babies as if they're trying out for a glamorous new role. Publicity, not the ticking clock, is the movie stars' motivator to parenthood.

Once the baby is born, they can put him in a paid nurse's care and go on with their make-believe lives. It's no wonder we have so many unwed mothers. They never see a celebrity's sleep disturbed by a hungry, wet crying baby. And they never will.

Pregnancy changes the body's chemistry, giving a healthy mother feelings of well being. This helps the fetus thrive. Thus, a more significant memory of a pregnant woman would be a photo of her with a face radiant in anticipation of a having a beautiful child to love, instead of a headless plaster cast of her full belly.