The Well-Rounded Mama

It’s something that lots of of them don’t want to acknowledge out loud, in fat-acceptance circles especially, but I have observed it often in others over the years. I know it was true in my case certainly. It’s an all natural reaction to all the years of propaganda we’ve heard about how exactly unhealthy being fat is, about how exactly dangerous all that weight is, yadda yadda.

We may, or may not admit our doubts to those all around us, but I believe most of us do experience them. But unlike other women of size, we might not feel “safe” to acknowledge to those anxieties out loud for concern with what others in the HAES community may think.

Or we might not even confess them to your partners, lest that solid question in their minds about us being fat and pregnant. So that can leave us incredibly alone, stewing in our own fears and permitting them to ferment. I’m persuaded that many people who’ve been pregnant (or considered pregnancy or even just had a pregnancy scare) experience this fat-acceptance crisis of trust.

BUT that it generally does not need to be a location where we stay psychologically, and that people don’t have to let these anxieties impact our birthing choices. If you didn’t experience these doubts, more capacity to you. I applaud your empoweredness, and I believe it’s important we listen to from you too. But numerous others of us have sensed these uncertainties, yet may feel a bit muzzled about talking about it because then it appears like we don’t really believe what we’ve been saying all along.

I think it helps to discuss these anxieties openly and to see them as a very normal part of plus-sized pregnancy in this fat-hating society. I also think it is critical to know how these fears will often influence our delivery encounters and our decision-making in pregnancy and also to know that people have other options besides the high-tech, high-intervention, high-fear model that most fats women experience.

1. Chilled Plate: Caprese Layers
2. Exercising reduces the chance of excessive weight gain during being pregnant
3. Medium-speed eaters consumed 2.5 oz . of food per minute
4. Venous stasis disease
5. Quadruped exercises without adequate stomach support
6. 3-6 sprigs fresh basil
7. Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2

Finally, I believe it’s vital that people acknowledge these concerns and then discover a way to go past them, so that it doesn’t overshadow our whole experience of pregnancy and delivery. We are worthy of to have happy, joyful pregnancies exactly like anyone else, and it’s in your power to have that, regardless of size. Acknowledging the fears and talking about them is the first step to moving past them. When I was pregnant first, I experienced an enormous uptick in fear levels about my size, despite having been an area of the fat-acceptance movement for quite some time.

Partly this was since it was an unplanned pregnancy and I hadn’t sufficiently girded myself for all the worries of pregnancy, and partially it was because there was no information available then about being pregnant and extra fat. So yeah, there was some panic on my part after I learned I was pregnant. I indulged that for a little while, then I required a bunch of deep breaths and tried to figure out what I possibly could do to address my concerns and see what to do and didn’t have merit.