DO WOMEN FEEL PRESSURE TO LOSE BABY WEIGHT?

Pregnancy…

It’s considered a miracle to bring a life into this world. Women get pregnant and go through the process of carrying a child. Nine months of nausea, back pain, gas, constant urinating, and the numerous other discomforting things that come to birthing a bouncing baby boy or girl.

It’s not easy. And it’s even harder with the amount of pressure women feel to not gain a lot of weight during their pregnancy. Because if women gain a lot of weight while pregnant, they will have more to lose after they have the baby. HELLO! It’s as if we think women should be back to their thin selves the second after the baby comes out. Not impossible but not likely, and definitely not something that should be expected.

The media is constantly shinning light on pregnant actresses and models. The message is usually positive unless a celebrity starts to gain too much weight during their pregnancy…then the criticism starts. And once that celebrity gives birth to her child, eyes are on the newborn but more so on the mom’s body. Will she be “back to normal” or will she be rushing to the gym to get “back in shape?” Who are we to put this kind of pressure on women who have been growing a life for nine months?!

According to an article in the Huff Post, mothers are consumed with the thought of losing weight after they give birth. Whether it be a direct result of the media or not, women feel as if they are on a time crunch to lose the weight they gained while they were pregnant. I don’t think new mothers should be worrying about their diet plan the second they say “hello” to their baby.

The article in the Huff Post stated,  “Pregnancy and the early months after having a baby should be a time when a women’s focus is on her health and wellbeing, and that of her child, not losing weight.” There is nothing against wanting to lose the weight you gained while pregnant, I just don’t want women to feel as if they have to.

As stated in the Huff Post, “There is a cultural insinuation that a mother’s job is to present herself physically as though nothing as momentously life-changing or body-changing as having a baby has occurred…” It’s never fair to judge a woman for how her body looks. It’s especially not fair to judge a woman’s body after she has just given birth.

I don’t want women to feel as if they are being judged or ridiculed because they aren’t a certain weight after their pregnancy.