Pregnancy has a way of making you feel like your body has been hijacked by a tiny dictator who decides well, everything. Between the weight gain and the constipation and the random pains and the morning sickness and the beating your hormones put on your emotional well-being, it probably feels like your due date can't arrive soon enough. Don't stress, because regardless of how it feels I promise won't be pregnant forever. Try to keep in mind though, that just like there are things you need to know about your pregnant body, there will also be changes happening with your postpartum body, too. Just because your baby has exited from your being, doesn't mean that you'll feel like you got your "body back," so-to-speak.
Your body did an amazing thing. Growing and sustaining and birthing an entire person is a major, physical undertaking, and though it causes some major changes that you may or may not feel comfortable with, you shouldn't hide your postpartum body. You should be proud and appreciative of it and all that it's given you. Staying body positive during pregnancy is difficult but important, and the same goes for your postpartum body. It's going to look different and feel different and maybe even move differently for a while, maybe even forever, but that doesn't mean that it's any less worthy of your love and respect than it was before.
Struggling with body image is, unfortunately, a common difficulty among many women, especially those who have had children and have watched their body change in a way that may not coincide with the ridiculous, unhealthy and unrealistic beauty expectations society perpetuates. However, there are plenty of ways to combat your body blues and learn to love your body if you're having trouble doing so, even after it has gone through such a massive change that only pregnancy, labor and delivery can provide. One way to cope with possible body image issues is to be prepared for what's to come. There are a lot of changes (many that are pretty insignificant) that will happen with your postpartum body, and understanding those changes and how they might impact you ahead of time, could really save you some unnecessary stress and help you to learn to give your body the love and nurturing and respect that is deserves. So, with that being said, here's 11 things you need to know will happen to your postpartum body.