5 Tips to Improve Body Image During Pregnancy
Are you having a hard time adjusting to body changes during pregnancy? As you continue reading, you’ll learn what body image is and 5 ways you can improve your body image while pregnant.
What is Body Image?
Body image is your perception of what your body looks like and how you feel about it.
This includes beliefs about your body, self-judgements, how you physically experience your body, and different views of your body (photos, mirror, etc.).
Your perceptions can fluctuate even within one day depending on how you feel in what you’re wearing, what you are thinking or feeling, physical changes in your body (menstrual cycle, bloating, pregnancy, etc.), and spoken/unspoken messages you’ve received (direct comments about your body, comments about other people’s bodies, ads, diet culture, etc.).
Some factors that can impact body image include traumatic and distressing experiences, low self-esteem, puberty, bullying, abuse, cultural beliefs, messages from society, comparing to others, social media, hormones, genetics, and physical health.
To learn more about body image, check out this blog by National Eating Disorders Collaboration.
Body Changes During Pregnancy
Becoming pregnant can be such an exciting time. It feels like everyone loves commenting on baby bumps, baby kicks, maternity photos, names, and the glow in your skin.
As you enter and experience pregnancy, you quickly find out there’s a lot more that happens than being a glowing, happy pregnant women all the time.
Each mom’s experience during pregnancy is different. You may even have a different experience between each of your own pregnancies. With that, brings a variety of body changes internally and externally.
The last trimester may bring on additional discomfort in your body, stretch marks, and thoughts of “will my body ever be the same???”.
The hard truth is… no , your body will not be the same because it literally had to adapt to make a human. It also is preparing for labor and delivery in order for your tiny human to be held in your arms.
This can be hard to process and may even include a period of time where you grieve the loss of your pre-baby body. It’s important to try not to let this consume you and impact your self-esteem along the way. Take action during pregnancy by trying these tips below to help improve and protect your body image.
5 Tips for Improving Body Image During Pregnancy
1. Filter Body Comments
The pregnancy comments just don’t stop and only continue the more your tummy grows with the tiny human inside of you.
Comments from others are typically well-intended, playful, and loving. Even though you may know this, that doesn’t stop them from making you feel more self-conscious about your body.
Filtering through these comments will be important so that you don’t internalize them into something negative towards your body.
You may want to remind yourself it’s not personal and very cultural for people to comment on pregnant bodies. Expressing your feelings and using the tips below can also help to filter through the comments.
If it is someone close to you that is repeatedly making body comments that trigger negative body image thoughts, you may consider setting boundaries.
Explain to your loved one you know they are being well-intended, however the specific comments they share with you are really difficult to hear right now. Being vulnerable can help the other person understand better how this is impacting you and motivate them to be more mindful in what they say to you.
2. Get Support
It doesn’t matter if it’s your first time being pregnant or the fourth time, having a good support system is vital during pregnancy.
Your support system may include friends, family, co-workers, church members/groups, etc.
You may want to join a mom group to start building relationships with other moms and have an open space to express your feelings with other women who relate to you. To learn more about how to find a mom group, check out this blog.
Other significant supports include your birthing team. Remember, you are number one in your birthing team and deserve to be heard. Make sure that your birthing team is bringing you up and not down.
Give yourself permission to find a new birthing team if your current one isn’t supporting your health, values, body image, and thoughts/feelings. Being pregnant and giving birth is such a vulnerable experience, you will thank yourself for having a birthing team that is aligned with you instead of against you.
3. Do Your Best Not to Compare
If you compare your pregnant body to another women’s pregnant body, you are definitely not alone!
Comparing to other pregnant women’s bodies can create feelings of dissatisfaction, guilt, and envy. This can increase negative thoughts about your body changes and view of yourself.
Grab a sticky note and list all the times you notice yourself comparing to other people. You may find you compare to others not only with your body and pregnancy, but possibly with performance, actions, relationships and personality.
It’s hard to admit, but so important to acknowledge. Is comparing helping you or hurting you?
As you go through each item on your list, think of one way you can work on this comparison. You may want to challenge it directly with affirmations, practice gratitude, or focus on your personal strengths. It may be possible to reduce the amount of comparison by reducing exposure to what triggers it. Some examples are deleting or unfollowing social media pages, avoiding certain TV shows, and reducing time around people who compare often.
4. Learn About Pregnancy
Understanding each stage of pregnancy can help you build more compassion for how you may be feeling.
Bringing in the logical side of baby’s development, changes in your body for the baby, potential physical symptoms, mood changes, and hormone changes are all super helpful in providing reason why your body is feeling the way it feels.
You may want to download a pregnancy app to track the development of your baby.
Here is a link to helpful information on potential symptoms you may experience during each stage of pregnancy.
5. Wear What Feels Comfortable
If you are already feeling uncomfortable in pregnancy, why add uncomfortable clothing on top of that? Sure it may look cute, but is that worth your discomfort and potential increased negative thoughts about how you feel in your body?
And why can’t comfortable clothing look cute too?
The more we focus on our body, the less we focus on the present moment with our family, friends, and what’s important to us. Negative body image thoughts can become consuming and certain things such as uncomfortable clothing can increase those thoughts.
You are carrying a human inside of you and you DESERVE to be comfortable.
BONUS TIP: Remember why you are currently pregnant. Whether planned or unplanned, you are pregnant now and growing a baby. Something is motivating you to become a mom of this little baby inside of you. Remembering that reason can be so helpful to remind you that all of these uncomfortable feelings are worth it in the long run.
If your body image is impacting your mental health, relationships, and self-esteem, it may be a good idea to seek support from a mental health professional.
You are always welcome to explore my counseling services for body image or contact me to see if I may be able to support you.
From one mom to another, I hope this helped you in some way. Remember, you ARE an amazing mama!
Christine Quintana MA, LPC, CEDS
Photo by Dexswaggerboy on Unsplash
