Parenthood not only changes the way you look at the world, putting that special little someone at the forefront of every move you make, but it also has a profound effect on your body – namely, the way our stomachs may appear post-partum.
This is something mum-of-two Alexa Jean Brown has discovered; the super-fit new mum may be used to having tight abs, but since the birth of her second child, she has found she has “more stretch marks and belly rolls” than ever before.
Hey, she may be typically ripped, but Alexa certainly has a point.
“This is me 4 weeks post-birth,” she began.
“Our society has put this idea in our heads that women have to bounce right back after having a baby, but that’s typically just not realistic.”
“This is not the truth for most of us. I have more stretch marks and belly rolls and that’s perfectly NORMAL and OKAY.”
“I remember being part way through this pregnancy seeing this woman online 1-day post partum with a flat tummy and abs thinking to myself, ‘Wowie, I hope I can pull that off.’ I instantly felt the pressure to measure up,” she continued.
“Fast-forward to my one-day post-partum body and it was more of the squishy, droopy flub that I remember after my first baby.”
“If you’re finding yourself obsessing about, feeling ashamed of or apologising for the appearance of your body, even if you haven’t just had a child, STOP. Our bodies are incredible and amazing and we need to love every inch of it,” she wrapped up the thought-provoking post.
Not that we ever needed justification for owning and honing our post-partum tummies, but seeing other mums going through the same thing is comforting, if not empowering.
