Many books and films would like us to believe that pregnancy and the postpartum phase are a magical time with ultrasounds, pregnancy announcements, choosing a colour for the nursery, and floating on a cloud in the newborn bubble.
The reality is that for many people, pregnancy and postpartum (the first few months after birth) come with a wide variety of body image challenges. And this isn’t just because of the rapid changes that happen in a pregnant body; the sudden and significant change in hormones make it even more difficult to deal with these challenges.
If you’re pregnant, you might be struggling to accept weight gain, changes to your body, and you might not like how your body no longer feels like your own. You might be experiencing weight discrimination by your birth team or feel insecure about the comments you''ve received about your belly. You might find that stepping on a scale every few weeks and having your weight closely monitored is triggering. Or maybe you’re insecure because people have commented on how you haven’t developed a big, pregnant belly. It’s also common for old body image or food issues that were resolved to reappear during pregnancy.
If you’ve given birth, you might find it difficult to accept your new body. Maybe you have a c-section scar, stretch marks, or loose skin. Or perhaps you weigh more than you did pre-pregnancy and you find that difficult to accept. You might also be feeling the pressure to “bounce back” and “lose the baby weight” while you’re still waking up 4 times a night and drowning in nappies.
How I Can Support You
As a fat woman who has been pregnant and given birth, I use my lived experience to help you through these unique challenges that can pop up during pregnancy and postpartum. In our work together, we might focus on:
Learning new coping skills and emotional regulation techniques that you can use in situations where you feel anxious, stressed, sad, or angry
Preparing for any conversations or situations that relate to your pregnant body, weight, and food, and how you can navigate them in a way that isn’t detrimental to your mental health
Discussing which subjects and conversations you’re comfortable with and how you can set boundaries with family members, friends, and loved ones during pregnancy
Normalising that the changes to your body are affecting your mental health and that it’s common for concerns with food and body image to resurface during pregnancy
Exploring any core beliefs you hold about pregnancy, weight, food, dieting, and exercise that might be impacting your mental health right now, and challenging them with core beliefs that better support your mental health during pregnancy and postpartum
Exploring any events or relationships that have contributed to your relationship to your body and food, and processing them together