Pregnancy doesn't make you fat...motherhood does!
Having babies doesn’t make you fat. Well, according to research conducted at the University of Canberra, it seems that pregnancy is not a trigger for significant weight gain in Australian women.
Although longitudinal studies show that women gain weight in young adulthood, and previous research has concluded that there is a link between having children and long-term weight gain, a University of Canberra led study has found no connection.
The findings, published in the clinical Obesity journal, contradict the results of previous studies that point to pregnancy as a trigger for long-term weight gain in women.
University of Canberra Professor of Midwifery and lead author, Deborah Davis, said the research, which samples more than 8,000 young women in Australia over a 16-year period, showed that there are many interacting factors that might cause weight gain other than pregnancy.
“There is a long-held perception that having babies contributed to women’s weight gain leading to overweight and obesity. We have now found that this is not the case."
Insights from a Mum
As a mother of a one year old, having just returned to full time work, I find this article to be interesting. While the research couldn’t find a link between pregnancy and weight gain...I have always justified the extra kilos gained during my pregnancy with, well…my pregnancy. Having put on 20 plus kilos over the long nine months, my body was barely recognisable following the birth of my gorgeous yet exhausting little boy.
Following his birth, I felt immense pressure to keep my baby alive, knowing absolutely nothing about how to be a mother. My days consisted of feeding, burping, changing, cleaning, bathing, patting, humming and shhing…and between all of those activities I still managed to find a little time to shower, eat, drink and sleep. Let’s not even get into the house work that doesn’t go away when your little one arrives. Sleep deprivation, hormones, insecurity, anxiety and the feeling of your world being tipped upside down can consume your life, and before you know it you look up and your baby is six months old. Oh and, you may still look like you gave birth yesterday.
Perhaps there isn’t a link between weight gain and pregnancy, but I can confidently say from personal experience that there is a link between lack of weight loss and motherhood!! And that’s okay. You are raising a human being. Your time is 98 per cent occupied by your little creature that is wholly and solely dependent on you. You might not have time to get to the gym like you used to, or have the ability to prepare healthy meals each night. You’re doing the best you can.
I have slowly regained control of my body, although I will be the first to admit it will never look the same again. Once I got the hang of being a Mum, I started to feel more comfortable taking him to the creche at my gym, and out for walks. The gym became my one-hour sanctuary where I could focus on myself and my body. I also gained an incredible gym buddy and friend, who had a baby at the same time as me. These hours spent at the gym became our own little mothers group, where some days we would talk more than we sweat.
Eventually I got the hang of cooking healthy food during nap times, or now as he getting more self-sufficient, while he is playing with his toys (or terrorizing the dogs). When I don’t have time to cook, I whip out a frozen meal for him and settle for eggs on toast for me. This is the new normal, and that’s okay. One year later we are all alive and well. He is a healthy boy and I am reasonably well adjusted to motherhood. I’m still fighting the good fight to lose baby weight, an incredibly stubborn kind of fat. But I feel that I am doing the best I can for myself and my family.
If you’re a new mother reading this article, thinking that you too can no longer hide behind the fact that there is no link between pregnancy and weight gain, that’s okay, find comfort in the link between lack of weight loss and motherhood. You grew a baby, and you’re now raising one. You’re doing amazing!
Words by Caitlin Judd