‘Momshells’: Pressure to Lose the Baby Weight
- August 20, 2012
- by Melissa Lawrence
I was honored to be interviewed by “Good Morning America” today about what I think is a really important topic — the pressure women face to lose weight after pregnancy.
I love curling up with a celebrity magazine like Us Weekly as much as the next person and flipping through the photos of stars who are “just like us” — buying groceries, filling the parking meter, going for a jog. But do you know when stars definitely aren’t just like us? When they have babies. Celeb moms like Beyonce and Mariah Carey have this impossibly toned post-baby body, and now Us Weekly’s editor-in-chief Janice Min is saying the push for celebrity moms to be “Momshells” (you know, like “bombshells”) is totally unrealistic.
Watch the video here and read more of my thoughts on this below:
Min, who just gave birth to her third child at age 42, writes in the New York Times Sunday Styles section that “in today’s celebrity narrative, just two kinds of desirable maternal female physiques exist: the adorable gestating one (with bellies called “bumps”) and its follow-up, the body that boomerangs back from birth possibly even better than before.”
This is so true — everyone loves the baby bump, but a little frump after giving birth? Not so much. And God forbid you don’t bounce back better than ever in weeks, like poor Hilary Duff and Jessica Simpson who have faced vicious criticism for not shedding the pounds fast enough. If you’re a star and you’re not a “Momshell,” it’s as if you have failed your celebrity duties.
My OB told me to not even think about post baby dieting or intense exercise for six weeks, and to expect it to take at least nine months to one year to get back in shape. This is so much more realistic! When I had all five of my newborns, there were so many things I was worried about other than weight loss, like recovering physically and caring for the baby day and night! You’re exhausted and you need your energy for all those feedings, burpings, diaper changes and emergency loads of laundry, especially if you’re breastfeeding but even if you’re not.
So I think we should lay off stars like Jessica Simpson, and give regular moms a break too. And focus more on the weight of the person who really matters here, the little baby.
What do you think? Did you or do you feel pressure to lose the baby weight right away?
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