Guest blogger Emily Graham is the creator of Mighty Moms.  She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life.  On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms — from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family.

Giving birth may be the miracle of life, but the postpartum period can take a heavy toll on a woman’s self-esteem and body image. Many women feel uncomfortable in their skin during the postnatal period, and new mothers often times feel the pressure to slim down and return to their pre-pregnancy weight shortly after giving birth. This is not only unrealistic, but it can also lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, confusion, guilt, and even failure. Growing a baby takes time, and so too does losing the baby weight after giving birth. Instead of focusing on all the different things you could do to lose weight after pregnancy, why not shift your perspective and focus on boosting your postpartum body image? These three tips from Maeband will help you to do it.

1. Treat Your Body and Mind With Kindness

While many postpartum women are anxious to return to their pre-pregnancy weight, obsessing over the numbers on the scale will only make matters worse during this delicate period in a new mother’s life. Exercising after giving birth can be great for any new mother’s physical, mental, and emotional health, but exercising to lose weight shouldn’t be the focus. Instead, it’s important for postnatal women to treat themselves with kindness and focus on self-care practices such as:

● Pelvic tilt and kegel exercises.
● Yoga poses such as happy baby, child’s pose, cat-cow, and mountain pose.
● Loving-kindness meditation.

You could also try playing up the features you do love about yourself, like your eyes, hair, or legs. You may not be at your preferred weight postpartum, but a little bit of makeup, dry shampoo, clean hair, and fragrance can do a lot for your self-esteem and body image.

2. Dress With Confidence 

Our bodies can feel foreign to us after giving birth: We’re more exhausted than we’ve ever been in our lives, our breasts are fuller and heavier, and we can’t wait for our postpartum bellies to shrink. And though we may not be in love with our new look, we can still dress in a way that improves our self-confidence. Lots of stylish clothing pieces have been designed to flatter postpartum bodies, from high-waisted leggings to nightgowns and lounge tanks.

As one example, Maeband’s pregnancy belly bands make it possible to fit into your favorite non-maternity pants before losing the baby weight — allowing you to rock your favorite pair of jeans and feel great in the process. The bands are available in colors such as royal blue, pearl white, and midnight black, and a dollar from every band sold is donated to charity.

It’s also a good idea to invest in new bras shortly after giving birth, as your bust size has likely changed during pregnancy. In addition to having nursing bras on hand, look into buying new bras that can adjust to your changing breast size. When you visit popular online retailers, it’s easy to find supportive bras for harder to fit sizes, whether you’re wearing a size 34D, 42G, or something larger or smaller.

As a rule, the best bras for postpartum women contain no underwire and are adjustable, supportive, soft, and stretchy. A tight or poorly fitted bra increases your risk of developing mastitis, a painful condition that’s most likely to occur within six months of giving birth. To ensure you have plenty of comfortable bras to wear when you need them, experts recommend having at least three maternity bras and three nursing bras on hand.

3. Accept Change and Thrive 

Just as your body has changed since childhood and puberty, it won’t be the same after you’ve given birth. You might return to your pre-pregnancy weight at some point, but this doesn’t mean the current version of your body isn’t worthy of love and acceptance.

All bodies change, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with how your body looks today. Your body may be different, but in no way is it damaged or unworthy of love. The sooner you can accept your post-baby body, the happier and better off you’ll be as you navigate motherhood.

The Bottom Line
The postpartum period is a physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging time in your life, so
give yourself (and your body) some extra love and kindness as you adjust to life after delivery.
Treat yourself lovingly, dress with confidence and try to accept where you are in this moment.
Your body is just as beautiful today as it was a year or two ago, and keeping this in mind will
help you to live life after baby with the confidence you deserve!
Maeband pregnancy bands are the perfect gift for pregnant and postpartum mothers. Available
in a variety of colors and sizes, Maeband pregnancy bands can be purchased online.