How many of the women here are childfree because of what it would do to their body from an aesthetic point of view?
I am childfree for many reasons, but one of them is because I think that pregnancy would ruin my body. I used to think that if one were to have a baby, your body would more or less go back to being how it used to be in time. Maybe your boobs were a little bigger, but you’d be more or less the same. This was my mum’s experience, and she had three kids. She was also naturally skinny.
Well, lo and behold, I was totally shocked when I started seeing before-and-after pregnancy photos and videos of mothers on IG and TikTok. Some were absolute 10’s before pregnancy - could have been models - or they were just so hot it was criminal. And then pregnancy and childbirth happened.
Stretch marks, a big belly they never had before, saggy boobs, a fatter face, bigger nose (did not know pregnancy nose was a thing). I am not trying to shame these women, and not suggesting it’s bad to have a body like this - it was more just the contrast that shocked me. I never thought your appearance could be so radically changed like that, and PERMANENTLY. AND in a relatively short span of time.
I saw a post that made me really sad about a mother who said even though her husband tells her he thinks she’s beautiful, she doesn’t feel pretty anymore. She knows she can’t go back to how she was before, and she has to mourn that.
I think it’s also ironic that people would call you shallow for not wanting your body to change or be “ruined” after pregnancy, when as a woman, you have been told from day dot that the most important thing about you is your appearance and being attractive. So when women’s appearances change so radically, and they feel bad about it, some people then have the gall to call them “shallow”. You really can’t win.
Anyway, I think if more people knew how much pregnancy changes your appearance irreparably, then way fewer women would be on the fence about it. That’s one of the few good things about social media, at least. It provides a window into the process.
Me, after seeing that shit, no way, uh uh. Just one of the many reasons I choose to be childfree 🙌🏻