8 women share their body changes after pregnancy
YOUR favourite celebrity moms would have you believe that pregnancy is just a nine-month inconvenience that temporarily balloons your body and then it’s easy to revert once the baby is out, but that’s not quite the experience for the majority of women, some of whom are still dealing with changes to their bodies even years after giving birth.
The truth is, pregnancy is a life-changing experience that not only produces a baby, but can lead to permanent changes in a woman’s body, as these mothers share below.
Anita 32:
With my first pregnancy my body snapped back, as they say, but with my second, it’s been three years and try as I might, I can’t get back there. Post-C-section I have been unable to get rid of the stomach bulge, and I’ve been told that only surgery can really fix it. But it’s not even only where I was cut that there’s a problem. The top section of my belly, near my diaphragm, bulges out too, like I’m carrying another baby, and I have no idea why.
Samantha, 28:
My vision has gone, so has my memory — everything is cloudy. And I know that this is because of my babies, because prior to pregnancy I had none of these issues. I had two children back to back, a year apart, and after the last one, I’ve been struggling to remember basic things — like how to spell, how to identify foods, colours, letters — simple things I can’t remember. I have to be making lists to get through the day. Pregnancy basically turned me into an old lady.
Natalia, 30:
I lost two teeth. Though I had always kept my dental visits up, for the most part, pregnancy did a number on my mouth. This was because in the first trimester I was unable to keep down food, and would throw up after every single meal, and this stomach acid destroyed the enamel in my teeth. I can’t risk another pregnancy because then I’d be a toothless mom.
Rubie, 40:
It made me incontinent, just imagine that! And I had a C-Section, so that’s the biggest irony. The other day I was laughing at a joke and boom, I peed myself. It was embarrassing and scary at the same time. Now I’m self-conscious all the time, and I still can’t believe that one baby could turn me into a senior citizen.
Stephanie, 23:
I had a baby almost two years ago and there’s still milk in my breasts, even though my baby stopped nursing at six months. So you can imagine what that has done for my romantic life!
Heidi, 37:
I have stretch marks on my arms, breasts, thighs, buttocks and belly — they’re everywhere. And mind you, I started pregnancy at 110 pounds, and ended it at 130 pounds. It’s the most distressing thing, because there I was at 37 weeks congratulating myself at not having a single stretch mark, and exactly a week later, I woke up looking like a zebra.
Soshanna, 26:
I got haemorrhoids! I thought these things only happened to some people; I had no clue that this was a part of pregnancy. They were painful and horrible. And the worst thing is, my baby is eight months old and I got some more the other day, so now I’m living with this problem.
Amanda, 29:
My stomach has a butt, and then I have another butt, and I just look weird all over. Apparently diastasis recti (abdominal muscles separate, creating a gap between the stomach muscles) is a common and permanent change that comes with some pregnancies, and nobody bothered to warn me about that. So ladies, read up on that before you journey down the pregnancy road.
