Pregnancy, food and body image
Leading psychotherapist Susie Orbach advises on how to keep a healthy relationship with food and body image during your pregnancy.
Having a healthy relationship with food during pregnancy is becoming quite a challenge. Not every woman feels happy with the changes that occur in her body during this time and this can lead to feelings of being exposed or out of control. This can also be a difficult feeling to acknowledge. From the experts who claim to know, to the pictures of yummy mummies with perfect bumps, the way we look and eat in pregnancy is in danger of becoming yet another dictate rather than a time of potential and magic. Everyone feels they can touch and comment on your body, and give you advice about what to eat and what not to eat and what to do once the baby arrives.
I don’t want to add to the burden but having listened to many women and had my own pregnancies, I know that it can be hard to keep a steady steer on oneself and that is crucial. Your body is changing every day and only you can discover what is right for it. Indeed, pregnancy is a special opportunity to tune into yourself and respond to your bodily needs for hunger, rest, exercise and so on.
Read more about eating during pregnancy including how to have a healthy balanced diet in pregnancy, what to eat for a vegetarian pregnancy as well as all your pregnancy diet myths debunked.
How will I deal with morning sickness?
Some of you will experience morning (or all-day) sickness and that will take some experimenting with to see how best to respond. Does dry toast help, or biscuits or lemon in hot water? Managing morning sickness can distort your appetite as you search for something to quell the discomfort and that can be hard, so try to really assess what does calm it down. Does the biscuit do the trick? It's unlikely to last your whole pregnancy (settling typically by the 16th-20th week) and your appetite will soon return to wanting nourishing foods which you absolutely need.
Will I be hungrier when I am pregnant?
Notice what foods you want, when you are hungry and how that food sits inside you, don’t allow yourself to be unnecessarily governed by what you should or shouldn’t eat (apart from the few foods that are best avoided). What you want will change as your baby grows. Most of your focus will be on the baby when she or he arrives, so it’s worth getting to know your personal signals, during this special time. Remember this is your time.
What about weight gain – or loss?
As for weight gain (or not enough gain) in pregnancy, and weight loss following birth, the guidelines are just that. These are not 'musts' you have to meet or else you fail. Every woman is unique. It can feel like there is a premium now on not showing until late but that is to do with fashion and style and not to do with health or bringing a new person into the world. Realising your baby is growing inside you is miraculous and if you choose to and are able to breastfeed, there is a second miracle as your baby grows from what you provide, a third miracle as she or he spontaneously lets you know how much feed is needed, and a fourth miracle as your uterus contracts in response.
Bodies are there to work properly from the beginning. You can use your pregnancy and post-partum to reset yours. Pregnancy is a precious time. It’s your time. It’s an intimate time to get to know yourself and to dream of what’s coming, without rights and wrongs. Enjoy!
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This article was last reviewed on the 19th August 2024 by Kerry Torrens
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