"Why should a woman be made to feel bad about wanting to feel good about herself?"

I've previously mentioned my fear of what will happen to my body when the time comes that I become pregnant. It seems I am not the first, nor will I be the last, who worries about their weight and body image as a result of pregnancy. Today I came across this article which talks about just that.


Here is the link to the article:

"Beauty After Baby"


How we look and feel about how we look is greatly linked to confidence. It's no wonder that when we feel we look good, we feel better about ourselves. Whether it's the outfit we chose to wear that day, or a new shade of lipstick––when we look good, we feel good, and vice versa. Plain and simple.


So why is it that women don't talk about how awful they feel about their bodies after pregnancy? Why is it shameful for a woman to be upset about how they look?


Yes, they just brought a beautiful boy or girl into the world, the circle of life goes on, it's wonderful...but what about mom? People get all excited and revolve around the baby and mom seems to be left behind as far as attention goes. The baby is new to the world, but mom's been through a lot of physical (and probably mental) changes that need some acknowledgment.


I cannot speak on this personally since I am not (nor have I been) pregnant, but I've been around pregnant women and one of my closest friends recently gave birth, and I know one day I will too. It is nice the saying "your body is not ruined, you're a tiger who earned her stripes", but what about women who become honestly upset or depressed about it? Not talking about postpartum, just general sadness one may feel about themselves (as we all may feel from time to time). While some women may lose the baby weight easily after giving birth because of breastfeeding or being healthy enough to begin working out afterwards, what about the women who had a difficult pregnancy? Those who were on bed rest, or can't breastfeed, or aren't well enough to hit the gym after giving birth? Those women are in a predicament because while they may want to do something about the excess weight or some other aspect of their appearance, they physically cannot, which can be detrimental to the psyche.

The writer says, "having been a beauty publicist for more than 14 years, I’ve seen firsthand on several occasions how beauty is so greatly linked to confidence. I’ve also witnessed beauty’s power to transform and heal others . . . beauty is powerful". It's the little victories that matter a great deal for some women, such as being able to get their hair or nails done, have the energy to put on makeup, or some other thing they couldn't do while pregnant because of the chemicals or whatever reason. I'll say it again––if we feel good, we look good and if we look good, we feel good. It's a circle that has no end, and it's something that everyone feels, pregnant or not, mother or not.


While this all may sound superficial, since I am talking mostly about physical beauty, I don't mean it to. I do not mean to take away from the importance and miracle of having a child. How we feel about ourselves reflects on other people, and impacts how we interact with each other. We need to feel good about ourselves and accept our bodies, but this isn't easy for everyone, which is why little things like makeup or hair, can make a difference in the body image we have of ourselves. If we feel good and confident, both inside and out, we can live our lives to the fullest. And for those moms and moms to be, you are beautiful and when you feel good about yourself, that positive energy will reflect on your child, in turn giving them good feelings about themselves and the ones they love.


Keep the positive energy flowing.