Though some outsiders believe that the culture of wealthy Los Angeles residents is outrageous, the "maternity concierge" team of Ellie Miller and Mellissa Gould disagrees. "Nothing is outrageous to us," they say. They are "maternity concierges." Nothing is outrageous to them.

The FT introduces us to the hot new hopefully imaginary trend of maternity concierge-ing, which consists of Ellie Miller and Mellissa Gould gently explaining to wealthy Hollywood types that "It can be a bit of a PR nightmare in this economy if you are seen with a new stroller every day." They are then paid for this service. But that's not all—they also speak to reporters from international newspapers about incidents like this:

One pregnant woman wanted the pair to get her into a particular playgroup, known as Mommy and Me. "She wanted us to let them know she had a discretionary fund available of $250,000 so that she could ensure her place in the group," says Ms Gould. "In LA these playgroups are very political."

Very. We encourage you to register for FT.com just to read this entire story. But not before reading this, our favorite two-sentence section: "Do they advise women to have beauty treatments before giving birth? 'Well, hello this is LA,' points out Ms Miller." Indeed it is.

For an alternate view on how to be pregnant, see this story by Alison Benedikt (who is married to our own John Cook). Will a maternity concierge help remove your "mucous plug?" If not, what use are they?

[FT (registration required). Photo: Getty]