Comments on: The Struggle of Post-Pregnancy Body Image

By: Marissa

Marissa — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 19:04:47 +0000

In reply to An. Thank you so much for sharing this. Please know you are definitely not alone. So, SO many of us can relate to everything you've mentioned here. I think it's so important for us to express these feelings and talk about it with one another. Hugs.

By: An

An — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 14:13:34 +0000

I appreciate this article. Still, it’s hard to see myself as pretty now.

I gained 45kg during pregnancy despite exercising and having a good diet. My body blew out, my abdominal muscles separated to well over 2 hands width, and I’m trying — still 2 years later– to lose the baby weight and fix my abdominals.

For me, the hardest is:

1) SEXUAL SELF IMAGE: I really struggle to enjoy sex and sexual things. I am sort of absent from it, even when I’m being intimate. And alone, I can’t seem to allow myself to enjoy it.

2) BODY FUNCTION: I have incontinence challenges and haemorrhoids too. I feel yucky.

I know it sounds bleak, but I do feel my postpartum depression has definitely lifted, though.

I guess I feel sad that I’m not my previous body. I’ve never been bigger than a size 10 (AU).

By: Manyama Nyama - Diary of One Kenyan Woman Part 3 - WriteLife Kenya

Manyama Nyama - Diary of One Kenyan Woman Part 3 - WriteLife Kenya — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 09:53:15 +0000

[…] going back home I handed Kevo the child and stood in front of our bedroom mirror naked. This was my new reality. I was now a mother and I had to figure out the kind of mother I wanted to be. I as still a wife. […]

By: How to Regain Your Confidence After Giving Birth

How to Regain Your Confidence After Giving Birth — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 01:07:08 +0000

[…] one of the best ways to gain confidence after you’ve given birth to a precious baby is to learn to love your body. Your body has done so much for you to grow, birth, and continue to feed and nourish your new baby. […]

By: Marissa

Marissa — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 17:23:46 +0000

In reply to Rosey. Brilliant idea. You're absolutely right -- this would be truly amazing.

By: Rosey

Rosey — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 17:14:29 +0000

I’m 18 months past giving birth, but my almost 10 lb child left my shorter body very different, and it is difficult to try to move past. While I appreciate these articles, and I try to follow advice and help myself, sometimes what I think would be great would be some sort of mother to mother help. It took me 30 yrs to figure out what outfits looked ‘good’ or made me feel good about myself. I am not good at all at knowing how to dress my body. Is there some sort of company, app, support group, anything that has fashion-smart mothers helping those figure out their new body? This means for tall, plus size, petite, those of us who wear L to XL yet have the chest of a Small… does something like this exist? If anyone wants to run with this business model – I would happily be your very first client.

By: Marissa

Marissa — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 18:49:28 +0000

In reply to Em. Thank you so much for this extremely thoughtful comment, Em. You're ABSOLUTELY right. Well said -- there's definitely no shame in wanting to work on getting back in shape. Thank you for this good reminder.

By: Em

Em — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 18:05:06 +0000

While I do genuinely appreciate articles like this, I feel a bit shamed for wanting to get my body back to pre-baby. It feels like this is saying I should just accept what it is and move on, but there ARE moments that I really miss my old body and want to work on it and I’d love to hear that that’s ok too.

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 14:30:24 +0000

For me, urinary incontinence caused me huge body shame after my daughter’s birth. I went from not knowing what a poise pad was to needing the giant ones everyday. It was/is embarrassing to not have control of simple function. The incontinence made me want to give up a lot of physical activities. I’m glad for articles on your website and others because I have been getting help from a physical therapist. It is hard to talk about it but it effects me everyday and I’m told a lot of other women.

Also, I’ve been sharing with anyone around pregnant women. Ask the doctor to show you your pelvic floor muscles during an ultrasound so you can see if you are doing kegels correctly. My physical therapist uses one to see how strong the muscles are and before going to her I wasn’t doing kegels correctly.

By: Marissa

Marissa — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 18:38:57 +0000

In reply to Sarah Montgomery. 100 percent.