Yup, you're still gonna look pregnant after you give birth (and that's perfectly normal!)

By Andrea Zanetich

Like the rest of the world, I couldn’t wait to see Kate, William, and the new Royal Baby emerge from the hospital last week, and the sight didn’t disappoint. It was a great show. She was glowing, he was grinning, the baby was delicious, and don’t tell me I was the only one who thought her hair looked amazing?!

But what stuck with me most was that Kate still looked pregnant.

Kate unashamedly refused to hide her still-swollen bump last week in front of the world’s media. It was such a refreshing change from the traditional approach taken by celebrities, who usually distribute carefully orchestrated, skillfully photo-shopped post-birth imagery that’s focused exclusively on the top half of their bodies.

If you’ve already had kids, the fact that our bodies still look pregnant after we deliver our babies would come as no surprise. But many women still don’t realise that this is another normal stage of pregnancy; it’s just that the post-birth body is rarely showcased to the world. And so for many mums (myself included!), it’s usually a shock when you pull down those sheets in the maternity ward to check out your post-birth belly, only to find that it still looks like there’s a baby tucked up inside.

I reckon Kate’s appearance will go a long way towards a step-change in thinking, and hopefully an increase in body acceptance and love for us all.

In a society where the pregnant body is considered beautiful, and a slender body is considered beautiful, it’s time that we recognise that a post-baby body is beautiful too. After all, giving birth is the most amazing thing a woman’s body can do.

I chatted about this on the radio last week, here’s the link:

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To see what real mummy tummies look like click HERE, and for ideas of what to wear in those few months after you give birth click HERE.

How did you feel about your body in those days after giving birth?

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