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Quick - Talk to me about "Celebrating the Pregnant Body"& body image during pregnancy

613 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  kavamamakava 
#1 ·
We're doing a Birth Circle on this topic tonight, and I want to get inspired! (Yes, this is last minute - I had three doula clients deliver last week and I'm writing a grant application due tomorrow)


Tell me - how did you celebrate your body during pregnancy? Belly casting? Belly Photos? Mehndi? Something cool and original.

What is most beautiful about pregnancy? Do you define the term beauty differently during pregnancy than you do the rest of the time?

How did you feel about your body while you were pregnant? How did that compare to how you feel when not pregnant?

How much attention was paid to your weight gain during pregnancy (by your care provider, friends and family)? What sort of comments did you hear about weight gain? Did you feel any anxiety about this issue at any point?

In comparison, how much attention was paid to the quality of your diet, and attentioin to developing good, solid nutrition habits.

How do you feel about the way pregnancy is portrayed in the media? Did you feel pressure to look like the pregnant women you see in magazines, or like pregnant hollywood celebrities?

Any thoughts you have on the topic would be great.
 
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#2 ·
I just loved being pregnant!! I have never felt sexier or more feminine than I felt when I was carrying my babies.
When I was pregnant with DD1, I pretty much ran around the house naked all the time. Really, I did. And DH and I had the best physical relationship, ever!

I gained something like 70-80 pounds during that pregnancy, but my OB never made a big deal out of it. Everyone else was constantly telling me how big I was and how big my baby was going to be. I didn't care. ...I never really had any body image issues until after the cesarean...

second pregnancy wasn't quite as exciting (pun intended) because of the toddler running around. But I still felt very beautiful and sexy and like the ultimate feminine!
 
#3 ·
We're doing a Birth Circle on this topic tonight, and I want to get inspired! (Yes, this is last minute - I had three doula clients deliver last week and I'm writing a grant application due tomorrow)


Tell me - how did you celebrate your body during pregnancy? Belly casting? Belly Photos? Mehndi? Something cool and original.

I take belly photos to note the changes. With my 2nd, we did a belly cast and henna at my baby shower. My mother also massaged my whole body with oil and then had me take a bath with rose petals.

What is most beautiful about pregnancy? Do you define the term beauty differently during pregnancy than you do the rest of the time?
If you ask my husband, he likes my growing backside. LOL.

How did you feel about your body while you were pregnant? How did that compare to how you feel when not pregnant?
I enjoy watching the changes. I don't feel all that different about my body when pregnant or not.

How much attention was paid to your weight gain during pregnancy (by your care provider, friends and family)? What sort of comments did you hear about weight gain? Did you feel any anxiety about this issue at any point?
I feel required to perform and hate it. In my first pregnancy I got a few comments about the weight gain but I insisted that I wasn't gorging myself on pie and the issue was dropped. It turned out that I had some swelling and maybe I could have done with less of the attitude that I was eating junk food (which I wasn't) and more encouragement to add protein and minerals to strengthen my blood.
With my 2nd pregnancy, I never heard a word about my weight. My midwife didn't even care to note it although she had a scale and it was optional.
This time, I just had an appointment on Tuesday and I've gained 12 lbs in 5 weeks. My midwife didn't make any rude comments but she did suggest that I check my diet and when she measured my fundus and it measured 1 1/2 cm over, she said it could have been belly fat making me measure over and not my uterus. So now I feel that I have to pay attention to numbers on the scale again and I hate that. I don't do well when I have to focus on my eating habits or food. All it does it make me want to eat more because then I begin thinking more and more about food. I'm already dreading and mentally preparing myself for what I will say at my next appointment in a month if I happen to have had a large jump in weight.

In comparison, how much attention was paid to the quality of your diet, and attentioin to developing good, solid nutrition habits. I think I just covered that
How do you feel about the way pregnancy is portrayed in the media? Did you feel pressure to look like the pregnant women you see in magazines, or like pregnant hollywood celebrities?
I felt no more pressure to look like pregnant celebrities than I feel pressure to look like celebrities when I'm not pregnant. I spend the amount of time on my appearance that makes me comfortable and that's me. I don't really care what other people look like in comparison.

Any thoughts you have on the topic would be great.
 
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