Beating The "Baby Belly"

[musclemom]

Good idea to bring up C-sections. I once heard their huge increase is due to both overzealous physicians, and the intermixing of ethnicities. (like a 5' 0" American woman of Equadorian heritage marrying a 6' 2" American man of Swedish descent.) You more frequently end up with fetuses that have body weights and head sizes incompatible with the mother's hip size.

I can see how births other than vaginal cause unwanted, lasting consequences, but it seems like normal childbirth and rearing (e.g. nursing) shouldnt be a significant issue for a body that was designed for that.

I'm not only thinking of the very significant cosmetic problems, but also the emotional ones directly related to wacky post pregnancy hormones.

There's a general "overzealousness" in c-sections, no doubt about that, and the hereditary body size disparity in parents is probably a contributor ... that and the fact that OB/GYNS have the highest malpractice rates of any specialties.

In terms of recovery from birth ... I had my son totally naturally (okay, 20+ years ago but ...) and it still took about a year for me to get my body back to something near it's original shape, I gained over 50 pounds (but I'm tall and have a large frame). One of the strangest things for me to deal with was that my "shape" had permanently changed, which was kind of strange, not just the breasts but there was a difference in the curve from my waist to my hip.

In terms of the emotional consequences, I look at it this way, our diets are goofy (even if you eat clean, you're still bombarded by environmental chemicals and hormones), our environment is just nasty ... all of these are major stressors, then add that to the stress levels for postpartum women being through the roof (women going back to a full time job about a month after giving birth!!!), and our support system is nonexistant. We just weren't designed to operate the way we do (men and women). Most of us are in a "red alert" situation 24/7 and that's just so wrong.

Ah well, it is what it is ...

Best, Harriet

 

[RottenWillow]

There's a general "overzealousness" in c-sections, no doubt about that, and the hereditary body size disparity in parents is probably a contributor ... that and the fact that OB/GYNS have the highest malpractice rates of any specialties.

In terms of recovery from birth ... I had my son totally naturally (okay, 20+ years ago but ...) and it still took about a year for me to get my body back to something near it's original shape, I gained over 50 pounds (but I'm tall and have a large frame). One of the strangest things for me to deal with was that my "shape" had permanently changed, which was kind of strange, not just the breasts but there was a difference in the curve from my waist to my hip.

In terms of the emotional consequences, I look at it this way, our diets are goofy (even if you eat clean, you're still bombarded by environmental chemicals and hormones), our environment is just nasty ... all of these are major stressors, then add that to the stress levels for postpartum women being through the roof (women going back to a full time job about a month after giving birth!!!), and our support system is nonexistant. We just weren't designed to operate the way we do (men and women). Most of us are in a "red alert" situation 24/7 and that's just so wrong.

Ah well, it is what it is ...

Best, Harriet

Great post Harriet. Thanks for your input.