The Intersection of Identity, Pregnancy, and Body Image

An Interview with A.B.

1. Describe the most important aspects of your identity in one to three sentences.

I am a working professional, a mother to a toddler and soon-to-be newborn, a supportive wife, and a friend.

2. With which of these descriptors do you identify? Please explain.

Age: Young, middle-aged, old, or other? Body Size: Thin, fat, or other? Race/Ethnicity: White, POC, or other? Sexual orientation: Asexual, demisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, or other? Gender: Cisgender, transgender, agender, genderqueer, non-binary, or other? Ability: Able-bodied, disabled, or other? Eating Disorder Status: Struggling with an eating disorder, recovered from an eating disorder, never had an eating disorder or other? Other ways in which society marginalizes (or does not marginalize) your body or identity.

I am a young, white, heterosexual, able-bodied, cisgender woman with an average body size. Despite being at a healthy weight for me, the body mass index categorizes me as “overweight.”

3. What was your relationship to food and your body like growing up?

Growing up, my family always had home-cooked meals, and my siblings and I had the freedom to eat what we wanted. I’ve always been a little bigger than my peers, but neither my family nor my peers caused me to have body image issues.

4. How has being pregnant affected your relationship with food, your body, and your body image?

I tend to eat whatever I want while pregnant. It is difficult for me to see my body change in the ways that it does. My breasts and belly get larger, and my skin changes. While I do feel larger while pregnant, I feel great. I embrace my body and what it can accomplish. I never feel more beautiful than when I am pregnant. However, some people’s comments have made me doubt my appearance when they have suggested that they have thought that I was farther along or having twins, or when they just make general statements about my appearance.

5. How has your relationship with food, your body, and your body image changed postpartum? And, how has your intersectional identity affected your body image after pregnancy?

During my first pregnancy I had gestational diabetes, so postpartum I weighed less than I did before I got pregnant. I also had a lot of success with breast milk production, which caused me to continue to lose weight. This helped me to return to a more comfortable weight postpartum and to maintain a positive attitude.

During this pregnancy, I have gained more weight, and each appointment I wonder if my doctor is going to say something when I gain a few ounces or a pound. (She doesn’t, which is fantastic). I think postpartum body image will be more difficult to swallow this time around. I have gained more weight and more stretch marks everywhere, and I am more exhausted than last time.

6. What advice do you have for other people who are or may become pregnant as it relates to food, body, and body image?

You are growing a human and need to consume enough calories to do this. Obviously, nutritious choices are great, but, whether you gain five pounds or fifty pounds during your pregnancy, your body is doing something incredible. Over time your body will recover to a size that supports your health after pregnancy. It takes nine months to grow a baby so this will not happen overnight.

7. What can individuals and society do to better support people during pregnancy as it relates to food, body, and body image?

Don’t make comments to pregnant women about what they are eating or what they look like, even if you do not think they should be eating a donut or if you think they should be exercising more. You do not know their story, and if you are not the medical professional who is caring for them, there is no need to comment.

8. Is there anything else you would like to add?

I feel like people think I am unable to do anything because I am pregnant. I know in some cases, pregnant women do have restrictions, but most women are fully capable of everything while carrying a child. People offer me more help, move out of my way, and constantly ask how I am feeling. I know none of this is bad, but sometimes I wonder how they perceive me.

Editor’s notes: