I know I'm meant to be a writer/journalist because I had the idea to write this article at around 4.35am, in one of my many fleeting moments of being awake, as I peed for the third time since midnight. My brain is always on the hustle for an angle or a story, eh. I must confess though, this article is, in part inspired by this one, which I re-read recently and it took me right back to all the feelings I felt in 2020 that had long left the forefront of my mind as life progressed. That's why I always say I write this blog for me as well as others; I don't want to forget this pregnancy. So here we go, here is the love letter to my body:
Thank you for proving my anxiety - and doctors wrong
This isn't something I openly speak about, but I was in talking therapies at the time of finding out I was pregnant. The 10 or so months prior to falling pregnant were the most volatile my mental health had been since 2017, and my mum and partner encouraged me to speak to someone: something I'd been deadset against. Why would I offload to a stranger?! It was a positive move though, so I now thank them for this. One of the ways my poor mental health manifested was in bouts of anxiety, and for a while in my first trimester, this transferred to miscarriage anxiety that I felt very, very intensely. However, as the weeks went by and my body stayed pregnant, I stopped letting these negative thoughts rule my experience. And my body backed me up. I can honestly say now, in a complete 180, my mental health has been very good throughout the rest of my pregnancy.
Thank you for showing me my body is damn strong
For years, I've defined the strength of my body by gym standards: how much I can squat, how well I can swing that kettlebell, even how quickly I can run a kilometre. Pregnancy has taught me having a strong body is SO much more than that. Throughout pregnancy, a woman’s metabolism operates at 2.2 times its normal rate, which is just below the human limit of 2.5 BMR (which you'll see many reels on IG compare it to running a marathon every single week for 40 weeks). Pregnant women grow 275+ new bones in their body (baby’s bones), grow then keep double the normal amount of organs functioning 24 hours a day, and bottom line, keep a whole other person alive with their body alone - all the while still holding down a full-time job and leading a full life like they were prior to their body doing all this. Pregnant women are the strongest creatures to walk on this planet, and you can't tell me different. Pregnant athletes? JEEZ. Hahaha. And I'm saying all this prior to my body even having given birth yet, which I'm sure will hone this point even more.
Thank you for showing me that “hard” doesn't mean “bad”
Although I've always wanted to be a mum, I must say, I was never too fussed about experiencing pregnancy. It looked hard, and uncomfortable, and a means to an end, to be honest. However, despite its hardness and uncomfortableness, I now know it's also one of the most special experiences, and I'm genuinely in awe of my body and what it has achieved every single day. When I witness my stomach seemingly moving of its own accord, I'm like ‘wow, there's a baby in there that my body made’ (with a little contribution of course, haha). I am so proud of my body. I never understood before how nausea, or exhaustion, or bladder pain, or any other of these ‘negative’ things couldn't seem bad, but genuinely, I would do this forever for my child, it's weird. It's not nice but I don't hate it - I welcome it.
Ultimately, thank you for giving me a new appreciation for my body
Throughout the years, I've gone through waves of being fit by traditional standards - healthy eating, gym, running - and not so fit - little to no exercise, multiple takeouts, not making conscious health decisions. My body confidence has changed in waves too. However, pregnancy has given me the best balance of all: I eat healthier but still treat myself often, I do exercise for me not for a chore, I feel GOOD about my body. I'm not looking at the size of my arms or how my stomach looks in an outfit. If it feels good, I'm wearing it. I've added more patterns, and more colour to my predominantly black and burgundy wardrobe. I really hope this carefree attitude sticks around post birth - in fact, I'm going to make sure it does.