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Be-You-Tiful: Accepting Your Pregnant Body

Apr 7, 20213 min read

At nine months pregnant my body has gone through some miraculous changes that have forever changed it and myself both internally and externally.


At first, when I became pregnant and started to gain weight and my belly grew and grew I found it liberating and fascinating that my body was growing and creating a little life and body inside my own. I allowed myself to honour and support that process in any way I could. I ate good foods, foods that I craved, I rested when necessary. I didn't place my focus on only gaining bump weight so I didn't didn’t work out excessively. I enjoyed being a home for not only my inner self but my little developing son, as well. It felt very empowering

Around the eight month mark, as my belly kept expanding a lot of negative thoughts, nigglings and insecurities started creeping in. You know the ones, those harsh, judge-y and mean thoughts that were centred around body image and the way it looks.

I know a lot of women experience these thoughts during pregnancy. I have heard my friends and loved one say them to me during their own pregnancies. I often responded with, “You are growing a life, don’t beat up on yourself. Your body is doing something amazing.”


When I start feeling this way and those thoughts of unworthiness came up because of the way my body looks at the moment, I try to say the same thing to myself that I would to my friends. I have done a lot of work around these thoughts, beliefs and feelings and I know now how important it is to employ self love and acceptance in moments of self doubt and criticism. If necessary, I mentally list the things my body can do and is doing for me everyday in every way that brings me joy and it helps me realign my thoughts away from my worth being defined by my outer skin, and appreciate my body as it is and for what it truly is, my home.


For example, In this body I am growing my son. I am lucky enough to have experienced a full term, very healthy pregnancy. In this body, I can make food for my family to enjoy and be nourished daily. I make dinners for my loved ones and enjoy meals with them, in love and conversation. I write and type and share my thoughts and feelings in this body with so many people. I hug and show affection to those I love and care about. I carry and pick up my little pup. I can create an amazing home for my family by painting a room, laying flooring, moving furniture, all with my very strong body. I can walk, run, jump, play, laugh and swim with this body. I can express my creativity and create amazing artwork and designs. When my son comes into this world, I will feed him with this body, hold him, and cuddle him, support him and so much more. In this body I am so much more than what I look like on the outside and it’s important to remember that is the case for all of us.

Lastly, I share this not to complain or to vie for sympathy but to share in a collective experience, that I know many pregnant women face. Our bodies go through massive, forever changes when we are pregnant and I wanted to share how I am getting through some of the harder parts of the body journey, changes and growth. There is so much more to the pregnancy journey, of course, this is only one facet of it. But it’s important to honour this side as well as the full experience of it because it is so layered and complex.

Please share in the comments some of your own struggles when dealing with the body changes of pregnancy and how you dealt with them.


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