Plus Size and Pregnant?
How to Have a Positive Plus-Size Pregnancy

Excerpted from Your Plus-Size Pregnancy: The Ultimate Guide for the Full-Figured Expectant Mom (Barricade Books, 2005) by Brette McWhorter Sember and Dr. Bruce D. Rodgers, M.D.

The best way to maintain a positive attitude throughout your pregnancy is to feel good about your body and yourself as a person.   It really is possible to love, appreciate, and care for your body. So be inspired moms-to-be!

Changing Your Attitude
First you must tackle your beliefs and attitudes about your body.  Think about your body like a unique piece of art.  You simply can’t compare a Picasso to a Monet, so there’s no reason to believe you should compare your body to your size 8 sister-in-law or your size 10 friend who is also pregnant.  Beauty and value in life are not about size.  Look at your body objectively, without being weighed down by societal constraints.  Appreciate its curves, its softness, its colors, its proportion and its movements. 

Appreciating Your Miracle
Pregnancy is a miracle.  Your body has taken microscopic pieces and caused them to grow into what will be a complete and perfect human being.  Your pregnant body is the outward demonstration of what is happening inside you.  An entire human being is developing inside you.  It can be disconcerting to watch these changes happen completely outside of your control.  To have a stomach, hips, and breasts you have been taught to believe are too large to begin with, increase in size can feel quite depressing.  Remember that these changes happen to all women during pregnancy, regardless of size.  Stop trying to fight it.  Consider everything your body is doing and feel proud!

Pampering Yourself
Taking the time to pamper and care for your body will help you enjoy it, appreciate it and give it the respect and awe it deserves.  And if you can appreciate and respect your body you will find that you feel good about yourself and how you look.   Make time to do things that feel good to your body and make you feel good about your body.  This can be as simple as taking the time for a bath instead of a shower, putting up your feet when you are sitting, or splurging a little. 

Focusing on Who You Are
It’s easy to feel while you are pregnant that everything is about your body.  It’s important to remember that you are not just about your physical body.  You have talents, feelings, abilities, desires, relationships, and dreams and are so much more than just a body!  Don’t let your body become your complete self.  Make time for the most important part of you – that person that lives inside the pregnant attributes.