During your pregnancy, you’ll have prepared for the arrival of your little one. You might have read a week-by-week guide on how your little one has been growing during your pregnancy, but were you really prepared for the changes that your own body would go through? Many parents are not, and that can leave you feeling uncomfortable. However, you can learn how to love your post-partum body.
Changes In Your Body
Your body will go through a few different physical and hormonal changes during your pregnancy. These can be different for every woman, but can include:
- Changes to your breasts which may include sagging and changes to their shape and size
- Hair loss
- A soft and saggy tummy
- Constipation and piles
- Stretch marks
- A weak pelvic floor
Adjusting To Your Post-Partum Body
Some of the changes your body goes through during your pregnancy will disappear as your hormones return to your pre-pregnant state. Some of the changes are temporary and can go back to normal. However, some changes will be less temporary, but it doesn’t make them any less lovable. These tips may help you as you accept your post-partum body.
Don’t Compare Yourself To Others
With social media, we’re often guilty of comparing ourselves to other women and celebrities. These images aren’t realistic and are regularly filtered. It can often make you feel deflated. In addition, every woman is different, and every pregnancy is different. Always try to remember that it took nine months to gain the baby weight, so it’s not going to disappear overnight. Give yourself time to recover from the pregnancy, labour and delivery.
Ignore Societal Expectations
The media and social media have placed a lot of expectations on post-partum bodies. Mainstream media and social media will often publish images of women who have bounced back to ‘normal’ after giving birth, but they don’t discuss the work that it took. It’s not practical for bodies to bounce back in the first week after delivery, so remind yourself that these expectations are not realistic.
Change Your Own Perspective
Giving birth is an accomplishment in its own right, and the changes to your body show that. Try to change your perspective on stretchmarks or a c-section scar. They’re not negative marks on your body, they’re badges of honour.
Be Kind To Yourself
Changing your thoughts takes time. It’s not going to happen overnight, so being kind to yourself is really important. If you find that you are thinking negatively about yourself and your body, stop, take a breath and ask yourself three things:
Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?
Use this technique to learn how to stop negative self-talk.
Mindful Gratitude
It can help if you identify things about your body that you’re grateful for and make a list. This could include:
- My body was strong enough to grow a child.
- My body was able to give birth.
- My body cares for my baby and myself
Try to do this every day, perhaps when you wake up so you can start your day with positive thoughts rather than negative ones.
Find Support
It can help if you talk to your family and friends about how you’re feeling. You could also try joining a group for new mums, as many of them may be experiencing the same feelings and doubts that you are. Being each other’s cheerleaders can be a great way to create positive energy after pregnancy.
Talk To Your Partner
Talking to your partner is important in the first weeks and months after giving birth. Your relationship may have changed now that you are parents as well as partners, and communication can help you to find your footing. You should be able to talk about how you’re feeling and any insecurities you have. You might need to be very clear about how your partner can support you, and what you need them to do to help you move past self-doubts.
Self-Care
Self-care is something that everyone is talking about, but remember that it means different things for different people. Some women take their self-care in the form of an at home spa moment – face masks, pedicures, or manicures. Other women prefer self-care in the form of an hour alone to read a book. Whereas for others, self-care means getting out of the house and spending time with friends. Whatever self-care means for you, it’s important that you make some time for it, and yourself.
