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| Image from BodyLoveWellness.com |
Sadly, in our society, pregnancy is often used as a time to make women feel neurotic or guilty about their bodies.
However, pregnancy is an incredible opportunity for body love and body image healing. It offers a tremendous chance to do many years' worth of healing, compressed into a short amount of time.
Instead of hating on your body, try embracing your body instead. Marvel that the miracle of growing a new baby can occur in a lush body as well as a sparse one. Give yourself credit for all the things your body is doing right. Embrace the changes that pregnancy and birth bring to your body, for they are the Tiger Stripe Emblems of Honor that mark your experiences as a mother.
Remember this, for it is as true as true gets: Your body is not a lemon.
You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose and water buffalo.
Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.
~Ina May Gaskin, midwife and author of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
4 comments:
It might be a good idea for me to be more present in my body, to appreciate and marvel at what's happening. Great post, Mama.
man I love her! did you read the chapter in her newest book about breast modifications and the complications the whole time I was reading I thought only if you tackled WLS Ina May you'd be devastated.
I just wanted to thank you for posting this. My daughter's first birthday is today and along with it the first anniversary of my c-section. I thought I'd managed to move past (or at least box up) most of the guilt and sense of failure, but this week has left me struggling some. When I saw this the other day, it was a great reminder that no matter what, I am not personally a failure nor have I failed my daughter. Thank you.
I sincerely thank you for this post! I gained a bit of weight after getting married and both my parents and in-laws have been on me to lose weight. I haven't gained any weight with my pregnancy and so I feel frustrated that I am being told to lose weight when I have a baby growing inside me. Thank you for this post it has given me a lot to think about :)
Merrawyn
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