What Pregnancy Did To Our Bodies!

By Antonia Hoyle

Barely a week goes by without yet another celebrity flaunting her enviable bikini body just weeks after having a baby. But few real women manage to snap back into shape so soon after childbirth. Femail asked six brave mothers to reveal the toll pregnancy has taken on their figures.

HUGE STRETCH MARKS

Natalie Edmonds, 26, is a holistic therapist from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. She has an 18-month-old son, Elliott. She weighs 12st 3lb and is a size 14. She says her stretch marks were the worst her midwife had ever seen.

It was inevitable I’d get stretch marks. My mother had them when she was expecting me and I’d already developed them as my hips widened during puberty.

For the first three months of my pregnancy, I was so ill I threw up everything. But as the sickness went and I grew more tired I started comfort-eating sausage sandwiches and chocolate. The weight went on my thighs, breasts, face and, of course, stomach.

I noticed my first stretch mark at four months and after that a new one emerged virtually every week.

I told myself it didn’t matter as long as they remained below my belly button, so I could hide them under trousers and skirts. But Elliott was three weeks overdue and as my bump grew bigger, they crept towards my chest.

Even my midwife at Southmead Hospital in Bristol was shocked. She said they were the worst stretch marks she’d ever seen. I was angered by her rudeness but exasperated with my body nonetheless.

I lost the three stone I’d put on within just three weeks of Elliott’s birth in November 2010. I lost my appetite and was shocked by how quickly my weight plummeted.

My stomach had completely lost muscle definition. The sudden weight loss even gave me stretch marks on my breasts and arms.

I’m still breastfeeding, so my body hasn’t completely settled. Aside from a few spinning classes, I don’t have the motivation to exercise. Being a mum takes up all my energy.

After having me, my mother, who’s a size 8, spent decades dieting. She tells me I should do the same. But I don’t want to compete with her. She says my stretch marks are horrible, but I think they’re a mark of what I’ve been through.

It might sound strange but I’m disappointed they’ve faded to silver and are less visible. I felt like a tiger mum when they were bright red.

I split up with my partner Clemence, 39, a psychiatric nurse, shortly after I fell pregnant. It’s not on my agenda to meet anyone else. I am generally happy with my body although I know my stomach will never look the same again.

SAGGY BUST

Aimee Marshall, 22, is a hairdresser from Braintree, Essex. She has a nine-month-old daughter, Eadie. She weighs 9st and is a size 8-10. Aimee was devastated by the way her breasts looked after giving birth.

Pre-pregnancy, I was a size 6 with pert 32E breasts. I was so proud of them. I showed them off in low-cut tops and was full of confidence.

I’d only been with my boyfriend for eight weeks and was on the Pill when I found out I was expecting. I was shocked but soon grew excited. I only put on a stone and my bump didn’t become obvious until I was six months pregnant.

That’s not to say I didn’t look like a wreck. The beautiful blooming pregnancy body is a myth. Because of the hormones, I developed strange moles and psoriasis that spread down my forehead and cheeks.

Eadie was born by emergency C-section four weeks prematurely last August at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford. I had a condition called placenta abruption, in which my placenta developed a hole and Eadie’s heartbeat slowed.

She was rushed to the neo-natal unit and the midwives encouraged me to express milk for her. I ended up with excruciating mastitis. Both breasts tripled in size and developed a greenish hue.

They were so painful and lumpy I couldn’t sleep. I’d watch in floods of tears as the other new mums breastfed their babies. We left hospital five days later and I was given antibiotics. My breasts went back to a  G-cup then six weeks later, when I stopped feeding Eadie, they started to shrink.

Although my bra size only went down to an F cup, the skin had stretched so much they looked like empty sacks — I was devastated.

It took three months for my stomach to go down and I am still self-conscious about the red C-section scar. I haven’t lost the stone I put on but the only thing that really bothers me is my cleavage. It feels as if I’ve lost part of my identity.

I went to see a surgeon last month about having my breasts lifted and implants inserted and I’m saving up for the £5,600 cost.

It has affected my confidence. Eadie’s dad and I split up when I was six months pregnant and I’m too embarrassed to even contemplate another physical relationship.

I haven’t been put off having more children but wish I’d been aware of the havoc it would cause my body. Mums-to-be should know that they will never look the same again.

LOST TWO STONE

Jessica Armstrong, 20, is a singer from Sheffield. She has a three-month-old daughter, Nevaya. She weighs 11st 7lb and is a size 12. She lost two stone during her pregnancy.