This is what REALLY happens to your body after you have a baby… Three women share their before and after pictures
Three mums reveal their post-pregnancy journeys and how their bodies changed
THE hashtag #PostBabyBodies has taken over social media, so we asked three new mums to share their journeys...
‘I couldn’t exercise for months’
Pre-pregnancy
Weight: 9st 10lb
Dress size: 10
Gave birth
May 19, 2015
Now
Weight: 9st 8lb
Dress size: 10
Amie Crewes, 36, is a full-time mum. She lives in Emsworth, Hampshire, with her husband Dan, 36, a senior enforcement officer and their son Cameron, 12 months. She says:
“When I reflect on what my body has been through over the last year, I feel so proud of it.
Cameron was born in May 2015 weighing 8lb 3oz after a 48-hour labour, which ended in an emergency C section.
When the epidural wore off, my left leg was numb and the doctors realised my labour had caused nerve damage.
I had to use a wheelchair then crutches for my first seven weeks as a mum, which was scary, as we didn’t know how long it would take to recover, if at all.
Before getting pregnant, I loved running and would do up to 35 miles a week, but all my plans to be out jogging within weeks of giving birth went out the window.
Instead I was having physio and trying to get mobile again.
When Dan and I first started trying for a baby in 2014, I was in the best shape of my life.
At 5ft 3in, I was 9st 10lb, a size 10 and had just run the London Marathon.
Desperate not to let pregnancy undo all my hard work, I was conscious of what I ate and ran until I was 20 weeks.
After that, my muscle tone soon went and my bum and thighs got wobbly quickly. By 36 weeks, I weighed almost 12st.
I loved my bump, but couldn’t help feeling self-conscious about my swollen ankles.
Within two weeks of having Cameron, I’d naturally dropped 1st, but after that my weight stayed at 10st 12lb for almost three months because I was so inactive.
I felt flabby, with an apron of loose skin on my stomach and I became anxious that if my mobility didn’t return, it could take a long time to get back into shape.
I was still wearing some of my maternity clothes and being a toned size 10 was a distant memory.
Dan assured me I looked great and suggested I focus on enjoying these precious first months as a mum, so that’s exactly what I decided to do.
I was never self-conscious about my body in front of Dan – he knew better than anyone what my body had been through and was proud of it. He didn’t care if I was a bit wobbly!
By the time Cameron was six months old, I was still having physio but was finally able to walk normally and gently jog short distances.
My weight slowly dropped, too, as I ate healthily, avoided junk food and was still exclusively breastfeeding.
Although I was down to 10st 5lb and a size 12, my boobs were still massive, having gone from a 32DD to 32GG.
My tummy was pretty much flat again by November, which I put down to keeping it really toned before pregnancy, but I couldn’t say the same for my arms and bum.
However, even though I was itching to tone them up again, my physio advised me to wait a bit longer before properly exercising.
When Cameron was nine months old, I weighed 9st 11lb and was wearing a size 10 as I was able to part-run, part-walk 5km once a week,
and go for shorter jogs with the buggy.
It was so great to be active again – I’d taken it for granted and had never thought it could be such an issue with a new baby.
A year on, I weigh 9st 8lb and I’m back in the jeans I bought after the marathon.
I run 5km a week and walk for an hour every day with the pram.
I’m still breastfeeding, so my boobs have remained a 32GG. I hope they won’t end up looking too saggy.
I’m surprised at how my body has recovered. I felt so flabby after having Cameron, but my muscles were still there, so it hasn’t taken too much effort to re-engage them.
I’m just thankful I was so fit pre-pregnancy, otherwise I’m sure I’d be in much worse shape now.”
‘I look almost the same as I did pre-pregnancy’
Pre-pregnancy
Weight: 10st 3lb
Dress size: 10
Gave birth
June 4, 2015
Now
Weight: 10st 5lb
Dress size: 12
Vee Da Palma Gias, 38, is a full-time mum and lives in north London with her husband Fernando, 49, a security guard, and their son Benjamin, 12 months. Vee says:
“Although I’m originally from Brazil, where many women are very body-conscious, I was raised to be confident irrespective of how I
looked.
That’s why I was determined to enjoy my pregnancy and first year of motherhood, and not worry about any effects it might have on my shape.
I’ve seen too many women stress about their bodies and tear themselves away from their new babies to go to the gym. That was never going to be me.
Plus, I’m not a big fan of exercise – apart from the odd yoga class – and I’m lucky that I’ve never put on much weight. Although I was aware that pregnancy might change that.
It actually took ages for my bump to appear.
At some of my pregnancy yoga classes and antenatal appointments, I could see other women wondering what I was doing there as it wasn’t until I was 20 weeks that my belly popped out.
By 33 weeks, I weighed 11st 8lb – 1st 5lb heavier than pre-pregnancy – and adored my new shape.
I’d stare at it in the mirror and post photos on social media, feeling so proud of the curves on my 5ft 5in frame.
Benjamin was born 10 days overdue on June 4, weighing 6lb 15oz.
Within days, I was out walking with the pram, but that’s all the exercise I was prepared to do.
I only breastfed for two weeks because Benjamin wasn’t feeding properly.
He lost a lot of weight after he was born and when he was five days old he ended up in hospital for three days.
It was agony trying to express for him, so I made the decision to stop and my 38C boobs soon went back down to their original size of
36B and didn’t look or feel any different from before.
By the time Benjamin was three months old, my weight was down to 10st 8lb.
I did feel I ought to have been lighter by then, but I’d had a contraceptive implant inserted, which made me gain a few pounds.
It also made me feel sick, so I had it removed in September and the weight slowly began to come off.
Even though the saying is ‘nine months on, nine months off’, I still wasn’t back to my pre-pregnancy weight by March and carried excess weight in my bum and hips.
I couldn’t complain, though, as I hadn’t really done anything to shift it.
For the first time in my life I found myself craving fizzy drinks and chocolate, probably to help give me the energy I needed to cope with the sleepless nights and all the running around a new mum has to do.
Even so, I was still surprised that pregnancy fat could stick around for so long after the baby’s born.
Fernando constantly reassured me I looked good, so even though I wasn’t as slim as I used to be, I never worried about being naked around him.
A year on from Benjamin’s birth, I weigh 10st 5lb – just 2lb heavier than I was before I conceived.
Aside from some loose skin on my stomach and my hips being slightly wider than they used to, I look almost the same as I did pre-pregnancy.
Friends have told me I’m lucky, and I agree.
I feel guilty because I’ve done nothing to get my shape back and I know some women have to work really hard.
But I put my body’s recovery down to good genes – my mother says her body bounced back very quickly after childbirth, too.
Of course, underneath my clothes I’m not quite as slim and toned as I look, but I don’t mind.
My body’s done an amazing thing, and that’s what’s really important.”
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‘Eating for two is nonsense’
Pre-pregnancy
Weight: 8st 9lb
Dress size: 8
Gave birth
April 23, 2015
Now
Weight: 7st 13lb
Dress size: 6
Liz Griffiths, 35, is a PR senior account director. She lives in Cardiff with her husband Dan, 34, who works in insurance, and their son Isaac, 13 months. She says:
“Exercise is a huge part of my lifestyle and I always knew having a baby wouldn’t change that.
I was never going to be someone who spent their maternity leave on the sofa watching box sets.
When I first found out I was pregnant, the prospect of losing control of my 5ft 4in body shape was a bit scary.
I was worried at the thought of waddling around and feeling unattractive, but in reality it was so gradual I found myself embracing my new figure.
I exercised throughout my pregnancy, swapping my usual spinning and Body Combat classes for swimming at seven months when my bump became too big for me to bend over.
No one ever criticised me for working out with a bump, in fact lots of people congratulated me on staying so active.
Having always eaten healthily, with lots of salads, fish and fruit in my diet, I wasn’t overly strict and when I wanted a takeaway, I had it.
But I refused to buy into the ‘eating for two’ theory – it’s nonsense!
At 39 weeks, I weighed 10st 4lb, my boobs were a 34D (from 32C) and the skin on my stomach was so stretched I worried I’d be left with a post-baby sag.
When I was two weeks overdue, I was induced. After a 27-hour labour, Isaac was delivered via forceps weighing a whopping 9lb 10oz.
It’s probably why I was already down to 8st 7lb – 2lb lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight – within a fortnight of his birth, and back in size-8 jeans.
Although I was happy with that, my stomach was still squishy and loose-skinned, which felt really alien.
By the time Isaac was eight weeks old, I was in the gym doing a weekly spin class followed by a 40-length swim, and when he was three months
old I upped my exercise to two classes – spinning and combat – and a swim on a Saturday morning.
By then I was 8st 1lb but still keen to tone up my stomach. Plus, I saw it as me time.
Even when I was tired from being up in the night, I always felt refreshed after my workout, which made me a happier mum.
Thankfully Dan was really supportive and encouraged me to have a few hours to myself.
He’s been so impressed that I’ve stayed fit and healthy while looking after Isaac, and couldn’t believe how quickly my body has recovered given how massive I was. I couldn’t have done it without his help.
As the weight’s dropped off, it’s affected my boobs.
I combination-fed Isaac until he was three months old, then switched to bottles only.
Once my milk dried up, I noticed my boobs felt smaller and emptier than they used to.
When he was nine months old, I had a bra fitting and discovered I’d dropped a cup size to a 32B.
I’ve accepted they’ll probably never regain their fullness, but being able to feed him myself was worth it.
A year after Isaac’s birth, I’m reaping the rewards of all the exercise I did while on maternity leave, and I now weigh 7st 13lb and wear a size 6. I’m lighter than I was before I became pregnant, and have dropped a dress size, too.
Although my body is testament to my healthy lifestyle, I’ve had to work hard to help it recover.
There are a lot of body politics among new mums, but it’s not a competition – each woman should do what’s right for her after giving birth.
No one should feel pressured into losing weight or, equally, into hanging on to the baby pounds if they don’t want to.
I’ve done what felt right for me, and I’m delighted with the results.”
