To feel like stretch marks are my fault?

[Illeana]

I was two stone overweight when I got pregnant. My skin was already stretched, so pregnancy on top of that stretched it past the point where it could snap back. My stomach is hideously loose, wrinkled and scarred and my self esteem is on rock bottom.

If I’d lost the two stone before getting pregnant that would have given my skin more leeway to stretch during pregnancy. So it might have snapped back without stretch marks. I look at my hideous stomach and I just feel so guilty and I hate myself, because it’s my fault that it’s like that.

I think you need to read some body positivity accounts on instagram. (Bodyposipanda is v good!) It’s about accepting yourself and not feeling like your body is a measure of your worth or normality.

You aren’t the only one of your friends who can’t wear a bikini.
You aren’t the only one who has something about their body they dislike.
You aren’t abnormal.

Once you’ve come to terms with what a mothers body looks like, if you still feel you want a tummy tuck, go for it. But look at why you think you need one before you risk it.