Need quick thoughts on Celebs losing weight v quickly post pregnancy/and not putting much on during - how do we feel about this?

It's totally false anyway. man y of the celebs pose of the steps of the portland with new baby, then are separated from their baby whilst they either a) head off for detox spa/mass training sessions for a few weeks or b) have liposuction. Meanwhile baby is looked after by maternity nanny or relatives.

I feel sorry for them that they put the vanity imposed on them ahead of the need to bond with their new baby.

(And btw, I know this happens as have friends who work at the Portland).

they are aspirations are they not?

if we could all do it - there would be no 'marvelling' at nicole kidman.

whether they should be aspired to is another thing, and incorporates the whole of the media vis-a-vis weight and visualised ideals.

Agree it's not the celebs at fault it;s the media (OK, Heat et al) for their pointless articles on size of bumps during and after pregnancy.

Look how slim she is now/struggling with her bay weight.

It's all bollocks.

I didn't feel pressured by the celebs, but didn't put weight on during pregnancy (constant nausea for 16 weeks and pregnancy after repeated loss does that), and lost two dress sizes in 6 months whilst breastfeeding (and eating everything in sight). I know other women who put on 2 or 3 stone as they felt that pregnancy was a time that they could not 'be on a diet', and felt less pressured about their body than at other times.

I really admire Charlotte Church who does things as she likes and doesn't give a stuff about anyone elses views (it seems)

But following on from the comments here - the whole point is that restricting your diet during pregnancy CAN have health effects on the baby.

I think it's quite well established that 'starving' yourself during pregnancy leads to the childs genes being programmed to famine mode so they will have a propensity to put on weight which I guess in this day and age leads to a higher possibility of obesity - I think that's what the article was trying to say.

What pressure? If there is any, then I blame the media (including newspapers) not the 'celebs' themselves.

'in my experience newborns don't move very fast'

I do get annoyed at the unrealistic expectations of weight generally - most people are NOT healthy at a size 6 or whatever, most women do out on at least a couple of stone in pg and most women take a while to lose it (the weight that is ). Agree with whoever said that a normal 9 mo bump is made to look massive by the gutter press (and while we're on teh subjcet, what about pics of bfing?)

I think its mad and sad and really respect celebs who don't succumb to the pressure.

I know that probably a lot are genetically blessed after all they're gorgeous and slim and i'd probably have been a bit more concerned about weight gain if the world's media was stalking me.

However it does create unrealistic expectations. Breastfeeding which they all profess to do doesn't necessarily turn you into a sylph over night. And whats with 'the running round after a newborn' that they also always say helped them lose weight. In my experience newborns don't move very fast.

Of course if i had a personal trainer, day and night nanny and personal chef i'd look fab too.

I couldn't care less about Nicole Kidman's belly tbh, but I'm an older mum, and I think it may be different for younger mums - more pressure to get it all snapped bak into shape. Mostly I feel quite sorry for the celeb in question that this takes priority over the babymoon for them, but they are in a no-win situation - damned if they do (Nicoles Kidman and Ritchie) and damned if they don't (J-Lo, after she first gave birth, though a few months on and she seems back to pre-pg figure to me).

I liked Milla Jovavich's attitude when pg, though.

I don't feel pressured by celebs losing weight/not putting it on pre and post pregnancy - their lives are so far removed from mine I really don't feel its an issue.

I think that most "normal" new mums are too busy and wrapped up in their own worlds to be bothered about slebs that are back into a size zero 6 weeks post birth, but it certainly does alot of harm in the long run as to what people think is the "norm", the more we see of slebs being so skinny both during pregnancy and so soon after childbirth in the media, the more it will be seen as normal, which is so sad.

Message withdrawn

I think it is a pressure, and for some mums will be another reason not to breastfeed. As although you can lose a lot of weight that way - you can retain a certain amount of fat. It also means it's more difficult to get back to exercising etc.

I agree with Huw that's it's all bound up in the whole body issue image.

a lot of celebreties are thin because that is part of their job descritpion

a lot of them work at it 24/7

nicole kidman has always been very slender - she didn't put on much weight when she was PG anyway so unsurprisingly she has lost it all quickly

none of my friends have ever said they felt pressure to lose babyweight because of a celeb doing it

i assume when i see the photoshoots A LOT of airbrushing and Spanx wearing is going on plus lots of shots of mum and baby with baby strategically positioned over tummy etc

I agree that it is very sad that some women's prirorities in teh first few weeks of motherhood are not about the baby but about their body. I don't think blame for this can be pinned on the celebs themselves, alot of it is how the media focuses on those celebs and pins nasty comments on the likes of Britney when they are still sporting a small pot belly 9 months after birth. Don't blame the few women like Nicole who may have naturally elastic figures, blame the journos who focus on them and compare everyone else negatively.

Before I had DD I was totally unaware that in real life it takes most women MONTHS to regain any semblance of thir former figure. Twenty-four hours after I had given birth I was horrified that I still had a huge bump and I asked the doctor to check it. She chortled away and explained it would be there for a good while. I felt horrible for the first four months after pregnany, I just had not antipicated the damage that would be done to my body.

On the other hand I am not sure there is "pressure to stay in shape during pregnancy". In some respects I would have welcomed more information about the importance of staying in shape but by MW said nothing and my (very expensive) local gym refuses to allow pregnant women to particpate in any of its exercise classes. I am not six months into my second pregnany and I have made an effort to swim several times a week and I am much smaller than at this stage in my last pregnany. I think women need more info about diet and exercise in pregnany and better access to pregnancy tailored exercise. We could also do with more info about losing weight post-birth. I found breast feeding really helped but it was not a miracle quick fix. You need a big baby with a healthy appetite to take enough calories from you. For me the weight dropped off once DD was 5 months and very hungry.

bluestocking has a poinmt actually. You see so often pictures of celebs with "baby bumps" when actually they have NORMAL bellies! or its their clothes making a wierd shape!

we prob all know women who have put on loads/no weight at all when pg and who have lost it immediately/after a year or so/only partly or not at all. And they are all normal. It's only when it comes to the DM that normal healthy women have Problems

I think it takes the obsession with the perfect figure to ridiculous new levels. I doubt it would cause the babies much harm whilst the celebs were still pregnant, as the body nurtures the baby first, but it must have some impact on the mother's health. Also, it's not setting a great example to the children, in that you must look perfect to get anywhere. I think people have seriously got their priorities wrong if losing weight is their greatest priority after giving birth. There is far too much obsession with weight these days, it's just a joke. It would be much better to see more celebs who were just comfortable in their own skins. Saying that, I put on no weight at all when pregnant with DD, but it wasn't for want of trying. Piled it on whilst bfing!

don't care what they do tbh

BUT I do worry that women see it as appalling that they put on (gasp) a couple of stone during pg when that's well within the recommended guidelines

or that they haven't lost all the baby weight in 6 weeks or whatever

I think our perception of what is normal re: weight gain and loss is being skewed and not just in pregnancy (lose a stone in X weeks anyone?)

Really think "Celebs" are in a no win situation, if they don't gain much weight during pregnancy/lose the weight quickly then the media portray them as vain and having an eating disorder. If they gain a lot of weight then struggle to lose it then they've "let themselves go".
It's a shame we can't just embrace the fact that women are different, some gain lots of weight whilst pregnant, others don't. For some it falls off, for others they really have to work at it.
Personally, I am glad that I had time to lose the 4+stones I gained each time slowly, healthily and without pressure. For me, my priority was spending time with my newborn/growing family not getting into skinny jeans.

I wonder if part of the problem is that staff at Heat etc are all pre-parents and don't actually know what a full-term bump looks like - I'm always amused by pictures of celebs with perfectly normal seven-month bumps with captions that say "good lord!! either she's gestating a hippo, or she's much further along in her pregnancy than she's letting on!". This may be because we don't see all that many full-term bumps out and about.
Other than that, I agree with PP - Liz Hurley once said there was no way she'd be so thin if she was a civilian - and I don't feel any need, as a civilian, to emulate celeb foolishness.

The only irritating thing is hearing their pearls of wisdom about eating raw carrots/ salted popcorn/ etc like the rest of us will go 'omg, that's how to get thin again!'

I think it's just a part of the whole body image issue tbh, I don't separate it at all.
I pity those who are so influenced by celebs that they feel pressured into losing weight (whether pregnant or not).

As for the children, I think they are liable to have 'issues' not because their mothers lost weight quickly after giving birth but because they will be raised by skeletons.