Being pregnant is hard, giving birth could be harder, getting your pre-pregnancy body back could also be challenging and sometimes impossible. Some of us find it challenging to look at our mum-bodies. We compare it with that of others who seem to have the perfect body even after childbirth.
Hello!!! No two people are the same. You didn't go through the same things and definitely did not find yourselves in the same situations. So while you admire Beyounce, Mercy Johnson and Tiwa Savage and all those mums who look great few weeks after childbirth, you should not unduly stress yourself into being like them because YOU ARE NOT THEM. You should not be pressured into fitting into some post-pregnancy body ideal. The most important thing is that you were part of the miracle of creating another human being and should not trade that for anything else in the world.
So mums please embrace your post-pregnancy bodies; embrace the stretch marks that have refused to clear, embrace the post-pregnancy belly that has refused to tone. Be confident in the fact that your are a mum, trim body or not. Someone called them "mummy-scars" and I agree. So long as they do not interfere with your being a good mother to your little one(s) , then you should not loose sleep over them. You should learn to love your post-pregnancy self.
Whenever you look longingly at your cloths which you can't fit into anymore as well as at pictures of your fit and trim pre-pregnancy self, you should look at your baby with utmost gratitude to God for the great privilege of having gone through pregnancy, childbirth and having tell-tale signs of motherhood on your body. You should always remind yourself that you did not become part of the saddening maternal mortality statistics in Nigeria.
I often wonder why some women feel ashamed of their bodies after childbirth. I see them as warrior scars. Thanks Chidimma for this encouraging piece.
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