The social media trend “Belly Only Pregnancy” shows images of women whose bodies proportionate to their weight gain seem to gain most of it around their stomach region and not as much on their arms or face or thighs. “Belly Only Pregnancy” is not an official medical term and should never be misconstrued as a goal. ”
“Belly Only Pregnancy” refers to a healthy pregnancy in which the baby has all its weight in the mother’s belly, without any extra fat added to other parts of her body.
This article describes what a “Belly Only Pregnancy” really means, how yoga and being aware can help create a healthy baby bump and help manage body image both during and after the pregnancy.
Understanding “Belly-Only Pregnancy”
Pregnancy has a great deal of effect on a woman’s hormones, metabolism and water retention. Therefore, it is common for a woman to experience some weight gain throughout her body; arms, thighs and her face. The concept behind the term “Belly Only Pregnancy” is to allow for proportional growth of the bump. It is because the baby is growing while minimizing weight gain in other areas due to healthy habits.
Experts caution against this trend because it may create unrealistic expectations of oneself and increase body image issues for women who already struggle with body comparison and/or disordered-eating thoughts. A woman’s goal should be on being healthy and functional rather than having the “perfect” digital image.
How Antenatal Yoga Helps Ensure a Healthy Pregnancy Bump
Pregnant women can develop their strength, flexibility and balance through gentle prenatal yoga. Medical/Scientific research supports that certain yoga poses (ex, supported butterfly pose, cat/cow pose, and supported squat) will strengthen pelvic floor muscle, allow for more movement in pelvic area, and provide connection to the abdominals.
Some additional benefits of practicing yoga during an “all belly” style of pregnancy are: –
- 1. To help evenly distribute the additional body weight during pregnancy.
- 2. To improve your posture and reduce low back pain during pregnancy.
- 3. To improve your breathing patterns and manage your stress levels that will lead to a balanced hormonal level.
A simple, safe routine could be the following:
Spend 10-15 minutes (depending upon your current level of fitness, month you are in your pregnancy and physician’s recommendation) a few days per week doing simple yoga poses.
What To Expect After Having A Baby
Many women expect their bellies to return to normal immediately after having a baby (because of the social media timeline). Research and people’s reality do not support this expectation because it can take months rather than weeks for the body to recover from pregnancy fully.
Other “gentle” exercise approaches you can use to help return your body to its original shape after having a baby include:
Gentle pelvic floor/core exercises that are supervised by a health care provider. Gentle walking and slowly increasing your activity level. Give yourself understanding and support. Understand that your belly will likely not look the same as pre-pregnancy.
How To Keep Your Body Image While Pregnant
Because many pregnant women feel a sense of shame. They compare themselves to other pregnant women (often aided by edited images) while trying to adopt the current “baby bump only” trend. Their priority should be to:
- Focus on their overall well-being through fitness and healthy habits instead of striving for an ideal appearance.
2. Minimize the amount of time spent looking at other people’s edited pictures to compare how they look.
3. Reach out to a trusted health care professional for help. (Remember, we are here for you!)
4. Recognize that it’s okay to not have an idealized version of oneself as a result of becoming a mother.
Parenthood also affords you the opportunity to feel empowered, supported, and honored through your experience.
The term “Belly Only Pregnancy” refers to the balance of the increase of a mother’s belly in relation to the amount of weight a mother gains while she is pregnant. In order to reach this balance, there are several things that mothers-to-be can do to assist them. Practice yoga, be mindful while moving and eating, and have realistic expectations about how their bodies will change during pregnancy. In terms of growing her belly, there are several ways that a mother can make. Important lifestyle changes, such as limiting the amount of excess fat that may accompany the growing baby.
After the arrival of the baby, it is crucial for mothers to focus on a gentle postpartum recovery process and to learn to accept herself as she currently is, rather than worrying about having a rapid “snap-back” to pre-pregnancy shape. For women who are currently pregnant, or for those who are supporting a woman who is pregnant, it is important for both the pregnant women’s baby and her own health; the appearance of either one of those individuals during this time period is unimportant.
