If you Google “plus-size pregnancy,” you’re going to be hit with a ton of information — and most of the search results revolve around a word no pregnant woman wants to hear: risks. Soon, you’ll read every horrifying statistic that’s out there, from infant mortality rates to all of the complications you’re prone to have. The guilt will set in. Then the isolation. In an attempt to feel less like a failure, you start searching for images and stories of hope from other plus-size women. And then it hits you: Have you ever actually seen a plus-size pregnant woman? You can barely recall a plus-size protagonist on TV, let alone a pregnant one. And every maternity-wear ad always features thin women with beautifully round bellies. What will yours look like? Will anyone even be able to tell you’re pregnant? This is just a small peek inside a plus-size pregnant woman’s mind. As plus-size bodies are routinely left out of the conversation, a lot of plus-size women feel a particular anxiety about how pregnancy will change them, and are given almost no reprieve. Because the medical world and mass media have done a great job of turning an almost blind eye to them, they feel underserved and underrepresented. With a reported 67 percent of the female US population being a size 14 or larger, it’s safe to assume a good portion of them are also plus-size and pregnant. And every day, those same women are giving birth to perfectly happy and healthy babies. But from a quick search on Google, you’d never know it. To lift the veil on plus-size pregnancy, CafeMom invited pregnant women of various plus-sizes to show the world what it really looks like. Though many of them had never allowed themselves to be so vulnerable, they showed their bodies to the world so that no other plus-size pregnant woman would ever feel as alone again. Some are round; some are riddled with stretch marks; others are shaped like a “B.” You’ll quickly see no two bellies are alike, and every pregnant belly is a beautiful one. It was a cyclical problem. Years of fertility drugs and back-to-back miscarriages caused inevitable weight gain, but doctors kept insisting that her issues were entirely based on weight she couldn’t avoid putting on. “That bothered me in the beginning. But after the second kid … I thought ’this is fine, this is the way I am pregnant’ and I’m just lucky to have a family.” However, that hasn’t stopped her from really appreciating her pregnancy and body journey. More from CafeMom: I Had So Much Body Confidence — Until I Got Pregnant More from CafeMom: Why Women Shouldn’t Believe Every Scary Thing They Read About Being Fat & Pregnant__ My body is part of me, and it informs a lot of my identity, but it isn’t me. It doesn’t mean I’m doomed to be a neglectful mother. It doesn’t mean I am destined for only heartache. Right now in this moment it is what it is, and in accepting that, I can finally live in the precious moments of my pregnancy. But no matter what, you are deserving of decent care. You are worthy of love. And most importantly, you are entitled to enjoy your time as a mother-to-be.
title: “Lifting The Veil On Plus Size Pregnancy” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-17” author: “Eddie Cunningham”
If you Google “plus-size pregnancy,” you’re going to be hit with a ton of information — and most of the search results revolve around a word no pregnant woman wants to hear: risks. Soon, you’ll read every horrifying statistic that’s out there, from infant mortality rates to all of the complications you’re prone to have. The guilt will set in. Then the isolation. In an attempt to feel less like a failure, you start searching for images and stories of hope from other plus-size women. And then it hits you: Have you ever actually seen a plus-size pregnant woman? You can barely recall a plus-size protagonist on TV, let alone a pregnant one. And every maternity-wear ad always features thin women with beautifully round bellies. What will yours look like? Will anyone even be able to tell you’re pregnant? This is just a small peek inside a plus-size pregnant woman’s mind. As plus-size bodies are routinely left out of the conversation, a lot of plus-size women feel a particular anxiety about how pregnancy will change them, and are given almost no reprieve. Because the medical world and mass media have done a great job of turning an almost blind eye to them, they feel underserved and underrepresented. With a reported 67 percent of the female US population being a size 14 or larger, it’s safe to assume a good portion of them are also plus-size and pregnant. And every day, those same women are giving birth to perfectly happy and healthy babies. But from a quick search on Google, you’d never know it. To lift the veil on plus-size pregnancy, CafeMom invited pregnant women of various plus-sizes to show the world what it really looks like. Though many of them had never allowed themselves to be so vulnerable, they showed their bodies to the world so that no other plus-size pregnant woman would ever feel as alone again. Some are round; some are riddled with stretch marks; others are shaped like a “B.” You’ll quickly see no two bellies are alike, and every pregnant belly is a beautiful one. It was a cyclical problem. Years of fertility drugs and back-to-back miscarriages caused inevitable weight gain, but doctors kept insisting that her issues were entirely based on weight she couldn’t avoid putting on. “That bothered me in the beginning. But after the second kid … I thought ’this is fine, this is the way I am pregnant’ and I’m just lucky to have a family.” However, that hasn’t stopped her from really appreciating her pregnancy and body journey. More from CafeMom: I Had So Much Body Confidence — Until I Got Pregnant More from CafeMom: Why Women Shouldn’t Believe Every Scary Thing They Read About Being Fat & Pregnant__ My body is part of me, and it informs a lot of my identity, but it isn’t me. It doesn’t mean I’m doomed to be a neglectful mother. It doesn’t mean I am destined for only heartache. Right now in this moment it is what it is, and in accepting that, I can finally live in the precious moments of my pregnancy. But no matter what, you are deserving of decent care. You are worthy of love. And most importantly, you are entitled to enjoy your time as a mother-to-be.
