Bounce back or “snapback” culture is a mix of direct and indirect pressures that celebrate women who return to their pre-kid-selves typically related to their physical fitness. While postpartum exercise and nutrition can be great to prioritize when done safely, it’s essential to differentiate “I am nurturing my postpartum body” from “I need to hide my postpartum body.”
All women will experience postpartum differently.
All postpartum bodies should be celebrated for the life they just created, not for how quickly they appear to resemble anything other than pregnancy and childbirth.
Here are some important mindset shifts on postpartum exercise and nutrition:
Instead of: | It's: |
I need to get my body back. | My body needs grace and time to recover. |
I need to diet to lose weight. | I need to nourish my body. |
I need to exercise to fit in pre-pregnancy jeans. | I need to exercise as a form of self-care. |
Additionally, some exercises are not safe postpartum, even when glorified on social media by others.
As pointed out by Elizabeth Altunkara, a personal trainer specializing in the perinatal period, “New recommendations suggest that the six-week check-up is too long to wait to begin many types of exercise, like walking and pelvic floor exercises. But, conversely, it’s too soon to resume other activities that have traditionally been greenlit at six weeks, like running, which could result in symptoms like chronic urine leakage, pelvic discomfort, and lower back pain.
If you start to feel self-conscious about the amazing miracle your body just created, it’s time to check in with yourself and kick those bounce-back pressures to the curb.