A new article in the Canadian press is crediting celebrity moms with causing a sad and unhealthy phenomenon among "regular" pregnant women known as "pregorexia."
The article basically says that when women who are expecting see photos of celebrities who haven't put on much weight during their pregnancies and still look all perfect and beautiful, it makes them feel bad about their own changing bodies. As a result, some women wind up developing eating disorders not only during their pregnancies, but right after giving birth as well.
And even though the idea that some women are so negatively affected by images of super-fit new celebrity moms that they wind up having eating disorders seems kind of far-fetched, I can absolutely see how something like that could happen.
I was pregnant with my son right around the time that celebrities like Katie Holmes and Britney Spears were pregnant with their babies too. And even though both of them looked pretty comparable to how most pregnant women do in their final trimester, I still couldn't help but compare the size of my rear end with theirs, especially in the months right after I had my son. I had a tough time shedding all of my baby weight -- took me a good nine months. And I can still remember seeing both of them step out looking slim and trim a couple months postpartum, and it made me feel pretty bad about my own appearance.
Lately there seem to be more and more celebrities popping up who don't gain much weight at all during their pregnancies, and I can't even imagine how seeing their images must make women who can't see their feet and don't even recognize themselves in the mirror feel about the way they look. The Canadian article mentions women like Tori Spelling (who has pranced around with a bikini baby bump more than once), and Victoria Beckham (who didn't even look pregnant right before she gave birth to baby Harper).
For a pregnant woman who is really having a hard time coming to terms with trying to stay in shape and get her pre-baby body back quickly, I can absolutely see where an eating disorder could possibly come into play. And that's why women who are expecting need to be reminded that what they see in the media isn't reality, and everyone gains different amounts of weight during pregnancy. And on top of that, they need to be reminded just how beautiful they look exactly the way they are, regardless of how fast they are able to pack up their maternity clothes and bust out their pre-baby wardrobe.
Have you noticed your self esteem dropping when you see photos of pregnant celebrities?
Image via Pacific Coast News
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Comments 49
Eating disorders are psychological problems that are more deep-seated than a picture in a magazine. And for the rest of you using this as a platform to criticize other women, SHUT UP! Nobody gives, or should, give a fuck what you think. Worry about your own body and not what other women do.
Ehh, not really. I was very careful about what I ate during my pregnancy and kept up my gym routine well into my eighth month, but it was because I wanted to be active and healthy, not because I was afraid of gaining weight.
Which is a good thing, because I still put on almost 50 pounds! I'm still working on losing the last bit, but I'm not beating myself up about it. It's more important to me to be healthy and have energy for my family than to be "skinny".
I didn't gain anywhere near as much weight as most of the people I knew. I gained just about 30lbs, which was perfect for me since I started at an average weight, but at nearly two weeks overdue, I only looked about 5 months along, tops. But I was a very active person before pregnancy (running, snowboarding, weights, dancing, you name it, I did it), and I continued most of it during pregnancy. I jogged up until I was about 7 months along, and then walked every day after that, along with resistance training. So I stayed fitter and was able to bounce back quicker; I got into my pre-pregancy jeans about two weeks after delivery. I also didn't get stretch marks.
Am I one of those people who is "unrealistic" or "out of the ordinary"? Did I present an image that women couldn't relate to? No. I'm just a different option on a HUGE spectrum of ways that womens' bodies change and adapt during pregnancy. There are many women like me who don't gain 100lbs during their pregnancy, because we treat our bodies differently, and they react as such. That doesn't make us weird or abnormal or somethine negative to be disliked.
@Samantha: I totally get what you're saying, but I think you maybe misinterpreted the article. I don't think they are saying that all women who stay small while pregnant are "pregorexic", but that it is an issue that is growing. I've worked with patients who have gone through this, most were already suffering or recovering from an eating disorder before becoming pregnant. I don't think it's caused by the media, but I think the media can make it a little worse, just like comparing yourself to other women in real life can. The thing about eating disorders is that it's all about perception, not fact. No matter how small you are you still see yourself as fat.
"Pregorexia" is a pregnant anorexic. These people had issues long before getting pregnant. My self-esteem isn't related to how other people look/act. I'm a grown woman, it comes from the inside.
And there are a lot of regular women who workout consistently before, during, and after pregnancy. We're not afraid to gain weight, we just like living a healthy lifestyle.
@ akrall83
This article is stating that women who are skinny during pregnancy are pregorexic. This article does not define the difference between a woman who just naturally grows that way or a woman who actually has an eating disorder. This article assumes that every pregnat skinny woman has an eating disorder and that is insulting to me! If this article would have talked about womn who have eating diorders while pregnat would have been fine but it messed up when assuming all women do just because the writer herself gained more weigth than celebrities. I hate how bigger women alwysy assume their is something wrong with smaller women just becuase they dont gain as much as you. It is pure jealousy and these tactics are done and said to make bigger people feel better about themsleves. Its very sad!!