post-partum

Hey, People magazine, well done accepting that a 50-year-old woman is beautiful. But if we're truly celebrating REAL beauty, Today's Parent takes a long way in the right direction, and Amy Schumer shows us how far we have yet to go

By Sonia Verma
National Editor

The first year of being a mother is impossible to explain. Sometimes I try and sum it up and the best I can do is explain it like so: It has been the longest shortest best hardest craziest calmest most exhausting most exhilarating simplest most complicated most exciting least exciting joyful year of my life. Phewf. Really though, that’s the only way I can sort of try and describe it. It’s a total trip. Such a conflicted time, yet everything feels so natural. You’re so confused, but at the same time, when you feel your baby in your arms, so sure that this is exactly where you are supposed to be.

You birthed a beautiful baby and now are struggling with extra weight from your pregnancy. You are not alone! Most women feel uncomfortable with their weight after having baby. And the media, with spotlights on celebrities who seemingly shed the pounds fast and easily, only serves to reinforce for women feelings of disappointment, sometimes shock, at what a true, natural post-partum body looks like.

What is mommy tummy? Do we all have it? Can we ever get rid of it? Hear from the experts.