Kate Middleton may be one source of inspiration for pregnant and post-pregnant women to feel confident with their bodies, but research reveals that one in five women feel pressured to lose pregnancy weight, and it's not just from the media, but their romantic partners as well, the Daily Mail reports.
A new poll carried out by BioOil followed 793 women who were three months into their pregnancy, researchers asking each participant how they felt about their bodies before asking them again six months later, after they had given birth.
Twenty percent of women felt pressured to regain their pre-baby body from their partners, though the media and their families were also factors in how they viewed their physiques. Half of the women surveyed reported that they put pressure on themselves to lose weight, findings which researchers found alarming.
"I find it concerning women are under unnecessary pressure at a time where their main priority, aside from their baby's well-being, should be how they're coping with the huge physical and emotional changes to their bodies," Kathryn Gutteride, Consultant Midwife and Clinical Lead at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals, told the Daily Mail. "It's important that women realize that just as they took nine months to produce a full grown baby, it will take at least that long for them to regain some of their former shape."
The Duchess of Cambridge proudly displayed her post-baby belly while showing off her new son, Prince George, to the world outside of the Lindo Wing a day after giving birth. Although fans of the royals were eager to see the new baby and the Duke and Duchess, tabloids instantly took to attacking her for not covering herself more, bloggers calling her "unattractive," and "belly," "diet" and "post-baby bump" becoming key phrases on Google searches along with her name.
OK! Magazine was even slammed for its offending headline "Kate's Post-Baby Weight Loss Regime" that they published within just 24 hours of the Duchess giving birth. Many have argued that the obsessive focus on the body of a new mother contributes to the negative ways women feel about their own bodies and selves, and perpetuates the detrimental media messages of obtaining a "perfect" figure.
However, body image extended beyond weight for the women surveyed, as BioOil found that many women were baffled by the changes they experienced during pregnancy, and only 12 percent admitted they were not surprised that their baby bump didn't disappear immediately after giving birth.
A pregnant woman's abdominal wall muscles and uterus takes anywhere from eight weeks to three months to shrink back to its pre-pregnany size after birth, and it can take women more than six months to lose their pregnancy weight, making a post-baby body a natural part of becoming a new mom.
Around 40 percent of women surveyed reported worrying frequently about their body in the first three months after pregnancy.
As for the Duke and Duchess, Prince William seems ecstatic to be a new father, and there have been no reports of him expecting or even wanting his wife to lose baby weight.
