To think whether or not you ‘bounce back’ after pregnancy is down to luck

[MsBump31]

I keep seeing these Instagram posts of women working out throughout their pregnancy who say “I’m not lucky for bouncing back - I worked hard”.

AIBU to think it IS actually purely down to luck?

I know women who were hospitalised for the entire of their pregnancies with morning sickness - I had to bed rest and was told to eat more by the doctors as I kept fainting, so I packed on more weight.

Not everyone can work out during pregnancy - in fact a lot of women can’t - and to imply the reason their figure is so great afterwards because “they worked hard” is just so ableist. Women are hospitalised for all sorts of conditions in pregnancy, it’s a difficult time for many.

You’re very, very lucky if you have a pregnancy that allows you to still function, let alone one that allows you the energy to keep up workouts IMO.

So yes, it’s down to luck.

Just wanted to show that you can be super fit in pregnancy and still not bounce back.

Women's bodies are so different it's incredible really.

Luck. I had twins after IVF. I was 32. 8 stone 5 pre preganancy. Just under 10 stone at 37 weeks. 7 stone 9 after birth (caesarean). Breast fed one twin for a year (other twin was bottle fed). Lovely and skinny post birth right up until I stopped breast feeding and then weight slowly crept up (now 8 stone 9 at 44).

I agree with you that it’s down to luck (how you recover and if you are able to exercise). My two pregnancies and post partum periods were different, but my weight loss was very similar, which leads me to believe that it was down to what I’m like, physically, more than what I do.

First pregnancy: I was very fit when I got pregnant. I was in the last stages of a very long rehab after a knee operation, and had a pretty full on exercise programme six days a week: weights classes, machines like leg presses, static bike, plyometrics, running, the lot. I can’t believe that I put myself through that despite the exhaustion and pretty bad nausea. I then had a placenta bleed at 13 weeks, and that was it - nothing more than a little gentle walking for the rest of the pregnancy, and lots of rest. Then I had bad birth injuries and had to rest for three months, and then it was lockdown.
Second pregnancy: started comparatively unfit, but did quite a bit of walking in pregnancy and post partum (other than 6 weeks post C section).
In both cases I put similar amounts of weight on. Both times I took a year to lose it all, but without dieting. I do have a fuller waist now though, which I think is down to weaker abs.

Totally agree OP. Though I can see a few posters are getting shirty at the idea.

Doesn't matter how fit you are when you fall pregnant, if your body hates pregnancy you aren't going to be exercising and eating in the way you would normally. It's disingenuous to suggest that it's a choice.

and to imply the reason their figure is so great afterwards because “they worked hard” is just so ableist.

They're not implying anything, they're telling the truth, their truth.

If I said I ran 3 miles this morning, does that make me ableist?

Aw come on, we all know most people are lazy. Laziness isn't bad, it is the root of human genius, we're always looking hard for ways to do the minimal. Most people don't really try to keep fit and be healthy, so they get fat & eat too much especially rubbish & smoke & drink a lot & get little exercise...

Yeah some people don't have choices because of c-sections or HG or MH issues but most women (people) don't have such difficult pregnancies. It doesn't matter what their PG was like. They were never going to put in any effort to be fit or keep fit or get fit again (after pregnancy or any other milestone life moment) no matter how 'lucky' they were that they didn't have a huge obstacle to those things. Because people are bone idle & that is the root of civilisation.

If you don't like Instagram posts of people bragging then the secret is... don't engage with those boastful posts. Find a way to curate your feed so you tell the algorithm you don't want to see that. I never see those posts on either of my Instagram accounts. They must be pretty easy posts to never see again.

I am lean and fit. I bounced back after both pregnancies but didn't work out at all. I was able to continue normal day to day life, just didn't run or go to classes. I also didn't do much sport when the babies were tiny.
Genetically I am slim, but I also love sport, eat pretty well etc.
So I didn't need to work at bouncing back but believe my life long body type and life's style meant it just happened.
I was fortunate to be in good health and have uncomplicated pregnancies and births, and my babies were born healthy.

I definitely pinged back into shape really quickly each time. Tbh I was probably thinner than I was at conception.

Like PP I attribute this to EBF. The weight was literally falling off me as I sat on the sofa all day eating cake. No hard work involved whatsoever. Certainly never did any exercise.

I didn't put much weight on because I was full after half a plateful of food. I don't understand how women can eat for two when they have a baby taking up most of their stomach cavity. As a result I didn't have a lot of weight to lose.

This post made me chuckle. I feel like I can hear you through the way you type!

It's trendy innit, a bit like we used to eat and drink, now we "fuel" and "hydrate" which sounds SO wanky cool.

more about whether or not you can work out during pregnancy isn’t down to how “hard you work”

Whether you can indeed depends. But there are plenty of women who could work out, just choose not to. Which is of course their right, but then there is also no need to complain when the first ones who have been working out have it easier. Honestly I was told that I must be lucky that I have such strong muscles - I promise you, I didn't just accidentally find them one random morning!

The “ableist” comment is so disingenuous. Anyone who can lie in a bed can do pelvic tilts to work on their stomach muscles.

Anyone can do a YouTube fitness video suited to their abilities a few times a week.

If people work hard, they should be able to say that.

I am no fitness guru - I don’t have a super fit muscly body. But I am able to look at those muscly women at the gym and acknowledge “wow, she worked so hard for that.” I did and do work fairly hard (in my own small way) to repair my stomach muscles though and get fit after pregnancy. Why can’t we acknowledge that about post-partum women/mothers of young children too?

I think you're taking other womens' stories way too personally OP.

As we're all comparing stories FWIW I had 2 babies very close together and very different outcomes - so I wouldn't put it all down to age or genetics either. The only real difference for me was that I didn't keep fit for my 2nd - and I never really 'bounced back' from that one whereas with no.1 I was one of those annoying types who wears her pre-baby jeans home from hospital.

I've often wondered if age helps, I was early 20s and snapped back with my first, took a couple of months to lose the puffiness with my second a few years later but no effort. BF both.

I was 41 when DD was born, and was back in my size 12 jeans when she was 3 weeks old. She was exclusively breastfed.

I'd say it's luck/genetics. Despite being fit and strong before children I was unable to do any form of exercise other than a very slow walk during my pregnancies, and breastfeeding did the opposite of helping me lose weight despite what I was promised by lots of people!

She was exclusively breastfed

Definitely feel this is the most likely factor. My eldest was an absolute boob monster, he fed constantly and I lost SO much weight. My youngest had dairy intolerance and barely fed, he was the skinny one and I didn't lose weight to the same level.

I don’t think there is much luck involved, it depends what kind of shape you were in before, how much you eat, what you eat, how active you were pre/ post pregnancy etc. I didn’t get any stretch marks but l put on a small amount of weight very slowly and thoroughly oiled my skin twice a day. It was mainly babies (l had twins), placentas and fluid. Then after the birth was busy caring for them so was very active

I 'bounced back' after my giving birth each time-I walked out of hospital,2 sizes smaller than pre-pregnancy
My mother is still carrying her 'baby weight' and my twin brothers are 37
I think it's down to lifestyle (my mother has always been bigger,eats endless crap and never does any exercise)
I can't say I did a lot of exercise but I was active and my father is a beanpole-i do take after him
Mostly luck,genetics and your lifestyle

I once read a dermatologist saying moisturising etc makes no impact. I don't have any stretch marks and I never moisturised or used the bio oil I diligently bought!

Very sceptical about genetics as my mum at 28 put on 4.5 stone. Me at 43 put on a couple of pounds. She had loads of stretch marks and l had none

I was a size 12 before I fell pregnant and during pregnancy sickness, pelvic pain stopping me exercise and eating all the chocolate made me pile on weight.

LO is 10 months now. When she was born I was a size 24. Through sheer hard work I've got down to a size 16 so far, low carb diet and doing aerobics for unfit people three times a week plus I walk everywhere.

There's no luck involved. Ive worked bloody hard and still have two stone to go.

Bit of both.

Obviously the less weight you've gained in pregnancy the less you have to lose.

But I think bouncing back for most people still isn't quick. I lost most of the weight within a couple of weeks but it was about nine months before anything felt tight again.

I hope it's down to luck and that I get some of it. I've been hospitalised four or so times so far and cant do much standing or walking without getting really sick quite rapidly and once the sick starts it goes out of control rapidly. I feel awful and before I got pregnant I used to go for an hour's run three times a week. Happy to be pregnant but also I'm bloody miserable.