Motherhood is a beautiful experience. Unfortunately it brings with it permanent changes in body, which some women are able to hide effectively in clothes and some others are not. The fear of childbirth at younger age and living lifelong with sagging body makes some women postpone the childbirth and avoid breastfeeding while some others sigh at the sight of shapely women like Malaika, Madhuri and Hemamalini who look gorgeous even after having babies.
In past women bore children at younger age and were working hard performing their household work and raising children. They did not put on excessive weight during pregnancy and lost it quite soon after childbirth. Whatever loose skin on tummy remained or if their breasts sagged they accepted it as a part of life and tried their best to hide the flaws in suitable clothes.
Scenario has changed with time in more than one ways:
- Women are gaining more weight during pregnancy: This is due to better availability of food, excessive indulgence by family and overall sedentary lifestyle. Some women develop problems like hypertension during pregnancy which makes them still heavier. In a high risk pregnancy often women are prescribed rest which again contributes to their weight gain.
- Women are not working as hard at home as in past: due to the availability of household help and maids who look after kids.
- Women are going back to the deskjob sooner after childbirth.: This is inevitable due to their demanding professional lives and financial considerations.
- Women do not breastfeed for long:.Breastfeeding is not only good for child but also helps mother lose a lot of weight. Breastfeeding for upto an year or more is a thing of past. Due to their work or social lives women prefer to wean the child completely in a couple of months. Generally they tend to mix breastfeed with bottle feed which in turn leads to faster drying up of milk. Even though they are feeding the baby infrequently they tend to take rich food during breastfeeding. All this contributes to weight gain.
- Women do not get time to exercise after childbirth: They are usually overwhelmed with the child and work. By the time they are pregnant with the second child they are still overweight and the cycle continues.
- Exposure to media: One sees middle aged ”yummy mommies” coming back so shape and flaunting their flat abs even before the baby is out of the cradle. So an average woman is perceived as careless and uninterested if she continues to be fat after having children. Very often husbands are not happy with fat wife.
- Jobs are demanding: Not just air hostesses and actresses, women in variety of jobs like hospitality, fashion designing, marketing and sales need to look trim always. Even other professions like software engineers need to look fit to be perceived as efficient and competitive. Doctors need it too to be able to set an example for their patients.
- Desire to wear fasionable clothes like jeans and T shirts which do nor hide the flaws too well.
- Lifestyle sports like swimming require slim figure to be able to get into swimsuits.
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