Struggling with Body Changes In Pregnancy

Last week, I talked about unhelpful beliefs that can pop up during pregnancy. Some examples of these beliefs are:

“I am a failure.”

“I am being dramatic/over-reacting.”

“It is my fault/I am responsible.”

“I am losing control/I have no control.”

“I am losing control [of my body]” was a belief present during my first pregnancy.

I still remember looking at myself in the full-length mirror in our new house.

We had just moved in, and I was about 18 weeks pregnant.

We didn’t have a full-length mirror in our previous home, and this was the first time I was staring at the reflection of my whole body.

As many of us know, people at 18 weeks of pregnancy *feel* pregnant, but don’t really *look* pregnant.

A lot of pregnant people I have worked with have said, “It just looks like I am getting fat.”

This brings up a lot of feelings for people. Including worrying others will think they have ‘let themselves go’ or ‘are losing control’. 

And in this moment of staring in the mirror, I felt that. Oof. 

“I have to have control” is an old unhelpful belief in my life, and feeling like I did not have control over my body during pregnancy was very uncomfortable and scary. 

But focusing on my body was a distraction from my true fear: that I did not have control over the health of my pregnancy or my baby.

If you resonate with any of this, and you are interested in identifying, and changing, your own unhelpful thoughts or beliefs… 

Try my FREE eBook, What’s Holding You Back?: 10 Common Limiting Beliefs in Parenthood.