Postnatal women feel the pressure to lose weight fast

Losing baby weight is a sore topic of conversation for postnatal women. This is especially so when they are constantly bombarded with images of celebrity mothers photographed at their pre-pregnancy shape, just weeks after giving birth.

In a poll of 1,400 mothers with children under the age of six months, 51 per cent had not lost their pregnancy weight, compared to 13 per cent who had lost all of it and 36 per cent who had lost some.

But 34 per cent of postnatal women felt pressured to lose the weight quickly.

Mark Pearson Chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk who conducted the research said: “The things that the ‘in shape’ celebrities don’t tell us is the amount that they spend on personal trainers and chefs that specialise in ‘healthy living’; not to mention the fact that many have a lot more spare time to work on losing weight. It isn’t fair for women to pressure themselves into keeping up with celebrities as they have completely different lifestyles. New mothers should only focus their new baby and keeping themselves healthy, as losing weight gradually, if needed at all, is always the best way to do it.”