Description

A group of mothers discuss how they felt about their body image after birth.

Transcript

Rachel Royce: Oh, I think the most disappointing thing for me when I came out of the hospital, I have been nine months out here, absolutely huge. I am quite a small person , but the baby was big, nine pounds full. I thought great! I would be able to put all my old clothes back on, I was so excited. I mean I love fashion. I used to be a fashion correspondent and got lots of designer clothes. And I cried because I tried to pull my jeans on and I couldn't do them up. And I am like oh no, I am still fat, because it doesn't all go down straight away. The babies come out but I don't know what happens, but like your muscles disappears, don't they? Because they are sort of like your muscles are going to separate when you are pregnant and I just – Ingrid Tarrant: Well you would feel rib cage moves out, doesn't it? And everything gets, because it's funny enough I only put on a stone in weight with my first child and lost it. So when I came out of hospital, I was exactly the same weight, my pre-pregnancy weight. I couldn't believe. I mean he was about 7, 8 and everything. And I was thinking well, where has the rest of it gone? But you have all the water, the fluids everything. So I thought that, oh, I would be able to put my clothes on. But although I was the same weight, pre-pregnancy weight, completely different shape. The worst thing was – and this has happened twice after two babies and you go wondering while in the hospital and everything and I like when is the baby due? Isn't' that awful? Rachel Royce: I still get that six years on. I am reporter, and I was at a hospital and we were doing a story about maternity, and the obstetrician said to me, are you with me? I am like the -- because he knew – he meant was I one of his clients? And he thought I was pregnant. I had my baby six years ago. I am out of proportion. My tummy sticks out more than the rest of me. And honestly I get asked once a month by some stranger. Ingrid Tarrant: But we are talking since you were pregnant though. Rachel Royce: Yeah. I am talking about – Ingrid Tarrant: It's never gone back to your normal figure. Rachel Royce: No. it's never gone flat again, now six years later. And I get regularly asked like once a month, when you have the baby. Sometimes that gets me in such a bad mood I just grit my teeth and go I am fat not pregnant, people are so embarrassed. Mara Lee: I would like to say, I am sorry, Rachel, about that's happened to you, because it happened to me on the train the other day, I was reading a Jools Oliver’s book and it's about her pregnancy diary, and baby diary; for work I was reading it. And I had the dress on that I thought made me look fabulous, but it just doesn't quite help, I had the pot belly. It glides over it and curves. And the woman said there is a seat here if you like. And I just thought, I was being mistaken for being pregnant. I just said, don't worry I am not and I just went, no, I am fine I just pushed it out. Ingrid Tarrant: You can take advantage of that, because that -- Rachel Royce: Well you -- I mean you obviously look like you got your figure back, no problem. Ingrid Tarrant: Funny enough, I did get it back, thankfully. With the first one, I was to say, I really put on a stone and that went very quickly. With the second one, each one took a little bit longer obviously. But I will tell you what I mean this breastfeeding, in any case I was always going to breastfeed. I was never going to put sort of chemicals and formulas in my baby's mouth and it is true that that does help, and you can feel your stomach contracting, you really – Rachel Royce: It really does. Ingrid Tarrant: Oh, definitely. Rachel Royce: I didn't feel like I had lost weight until I stopped breastfeeding. So I was -- when I was breastfeeding. Ingrid Tarrant: Oh I could feel it always through and anything. But with the third child Sammy, I never dieted either until I finished breastfeeding and I was breastfeeding probably for an average of six months, because I thought that was stupid, because I am not getting the nourishment. But I always wanted to get back to pre-pregnancy weight by the end of the year, whatever happens. So with the other two, it was absolutely fine. But with Sammy I was carrying about next to five pounds. I thought, I have got to get and do that by the end of the year and whatever. I just did this diet, and I had never dieted actually, and this worked. It was brilliant and that was fine. I didn't exercise. Rachel Royce: What was the diet? Ingrid Tarrant: Oh, it was a three day diet. So it was very bearable. It was the most peculiar thing but it was fantastic if you like to tune up. Rachel Royce: But you can't anything for three days. Ingrid Tarrant: But that's fallacy because then your whole body is – your whole system shuts down, doesn't it? It's going like, it's feast or famine. So it's like well we can't sort of digest, we have got to reserve things and that's why it goes all wrong when people starve, don't they? And then they suddenly it, and then it's not getting digested quickly. It was just a three day diet that was very effective. It was called the Heart Foundation Diet. They did deny that it was one of those but it was fantastic. And that was it. But I think it's the way you are. If you feel kind of naturally quite active, or you haven't eating the wrong foods during pregnancy, because I think that's the danger. People eating for two, which is really a fallacy because they will take from the body what they want and then you just think well I am getting fat, so you will notice, will have 20 -- whatever, but you do afterwards. Cheryl Baker: You would – in my house when I was doing. You won't see the fly on the wall. I thought I wasn't eating for two but I was. I was eating for three. I thought I can have pudding, and I never. I never have a pudding I am very regimental about why -- I know the right things to ea. But when I was pregnant I did. I used to also say because I am pregnant I have got a sweet tooth. But I think that was just Female Speaker: We normally have. Ingrid Tarrant: We have a sweet tooth. You are a denying yourself puddings in your non-pregnant state. Cheryl Baker: I say to people that I would always rather have cheese after meal than a pudding. Ingrid Tarrant: Is that true? Chery Baker: Possibly not. But when I was pregnant I have had both. Rachel Royce: I used to get pregnancy cream cakes actually was there, isn't it? And apricots. I found anything flavored with apricot, like apricot ice cream, apricot yogurt. I would sit at work because I was working through my pregnancy. And I remember being so embarrassed one day when -- chocolate in my mouth. Ingrid Tarrant: But it is what the body needs. I really do believe that. I mean that's why I was asking you the question to Cheryl like were you denying yourself normally, but something like putting it down in something like pregnancy and maybe it could be a craving and therefore it was justified. But if you are denying it; you are an actually sweet tooth person. Cheryl Baker: I probably am. Ingrid Tarrant: Yes. So often the body is answering a need. It was just – you just love sweet things. Cheryl baker: But I have struggled with my weight ever since giving birth to my children. And I never – I always toyed with diet, and I was always possibly half a stone overweight and never much more. And now I am probably, well, I am three stone heavier than I was. Ingrid Tarrant: Are you really? Cheryl Baker: I am really – Ingrid Tarrant: I do really interpret it just to having babies. Cheryl Baker: No. I put it that’s my age as well. But then I had the babies at 40. So I was already heading down the rocky road of menopause by then. I have been there and come out the other side now. But since I have had the babies, I have never got down to fighting weight ever, not once. Ingrid Tarrant: Me too. Cheryl Baker: And I have tried every diet and they all work because you stick to them, and when you stop them -- and I don't eat badly as well. Ingrid Tarrant: Isn't that strange? Cheryl Baker: I eat really well, I don't too much. Rachel Royce: I think it changed the shape. And I see I am just not having the same muscles anymore. I think that the shape gets ruined by pregnancy, doesn't it. Ingrid Tarrant: But I mean again I mean it is going back, because everything has changed since I had my first child. There was no exercise routine for pregnancy. There were certain things you go like the breathing thing bit it was very, very mild. That wasn't such a thing, this is what you need to do to get – exactly. But that's all there now. I wonder the fat makes a difference. Do you think it does? Mara Lee: There is a serious – I mean there is serious pressure, isn't it? The celebrities getting back – Ingrid Tarrant: They do it. Rachel Royce: With a caesarean, don't they and they have body tucks. Ingrid Tarrant: Do they? Cheryl Baker: Well I don't know but there is talk about it, while I am in there, while you are down there. Rachel Royce: Yeah, why don’t you give me a tummy tuck at the same time? Ingrid Tarrant: Isn't that dangerous though. Rachel Royce: It sounds great. Ingrid Tarrant: Well that does sound great but would you really want to go to that extreme just to lose weight and get your body back in shape. Cheryl Baker: Well also, there are so many magazines now on this. So many magazines that don't just do lovely pictures, lovely gossip pictures, but they love to take the photos of the – if you are not looking so good. And there are lots of celebs now that get back to their fighting weight so very quickly. And I think that puts a lot of pressure on the ordinary mums at home to think, what if they can do we can. But in the real world I don't think it really happens. No exactly. It makes it much more difficult for the.