Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, was out of St. Mary’s hospital after delivering her third baby merely a few hours after giving birth. With Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex about to give birth we wonder if she will be out under the same amount of pressure to carry out royal duties so early into her new maternal bliss?
The British media outlets were divided on the matter. Mums who aren’t royalty and aren’t always followed around by the press could not relate to having to hurry their recovery and felt nothing but strong empathy for Kate; while also acknowledging that she did a great job filling the shoes of the wife of a future king. Some accused Kate’s impeccable appearance of making other mothers feel alone and inaccurately representing the realities of motherhood. After all, for most of us, showing ourselves and post-baby bodies to the outside world looks a little more like sharing a blissed-out-but-exhausted, very personal first family photo with a handful of Facebook friends.
Are women put under too much pressure to bounce back post pregnancy led by examples of the royals? Not only is this unrealistic for the vast majority of us, but it’s also unfortunate. These “post-baby bodies” of ours were celebrated during our pregnancy, and suddenly we stop acknowledging how incredible they are and start shaming them instead. (Read our article Dressing Post-Partum. How to Feel Good and Look Good)
What if, instead, we made a point of continuing to celebrate postpartum bodies not for some miraculous reversion to the way they looked before, but for the way they are forever changed by serving as our babies’ first homes? On that note, we can’t wait to see Meghan and Harry’s firstborn, and we don’t mind waiting a week or two for the images.
Let us know what you think about it? Oh and let’s not forget what do we think they will name the little bundle of joy!
