'Yummy mummy' pressure increasing

By Kim Powell | December 05, 2007

WOMEN are increasingly concerned about their shape and weight during pregnancy, partly due to the media's focus on celebrity yummy mummies, experts say.

Psychologist Beth Shelton from Swinburne University said there seems to be “strong, unwritten social rules” about how much weight is acceptable to gain, where that weight goes and how long it takes to lose it after the baby is born.

“For the women in the study, a big tummy and large breasts were ok, even desirable, but weight on any other body part was often a source of anxiety,” Dr Shelton said.

“These social rules are also evident in the increasing preoccupation of women’s magazines with celebrities’ pregnancy and post-birth bodies.”

Helen Skouteris from Deakin University’s School of Psychology has tracked hundreds of women through pregnancy and for a year after birth, looking at body image, depression, and whether pregnant women are comparing their bodies to others.

Dr Skouteris said it’s hard to avoid media images of celebrities and their baby weight, and that the trend to have “yummy mummies who look immaculate and amazing through pregnancy” and to show off their pregnant bellies, contributes to body dissatisfaction.

“In the past maternity wear was more about tent dresses that were very comfortable and loose, compared to now when it’s tight and close-fitting.

“Some women will put on more kilos when pregnant than other women, and you should be mindful of that.”

Dr Skouteris said the link between body dissatisfaction and depression is important because one in ten women experience post natal depression.

“If a woman said she wasn’t satisfied with her body prior to pregnancy then she’s more likely to have body image dissatisfaction during pregnancy," Dr Skouteris said.

“The reality is, the majority of women in our sample are experiencing a level of body dissatisfaction.”

Dr Skouteris said women tend to feel fatter in the early stages of pregnancy – when there’s only the small baby bump – than in the later stages when they are much larger.

But interestingly, women in the later stages also report feeling less attractive.

“All the literature suggests that comparing your physical self to others is a dangerous thing to do (and) comparing your pregnant self to non-pregnant women is diabolical.”