A picture of Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif stepping out with husband Vicky Kaushal at the Ambani family’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Mumbai should have been just another celebrity appearance.
Instead, as pictures of the actor surfaced online, social media users were quick to comment on her appearance, with some comparing her to how she looked before pregnancy. What may seem like just another round of celebrity trolling, however, points to a much wider issue: why do women continue to face scrutiny over how quickly they are expected to look “normal” after childbirth?
RECOVERY TAKES TIME
For a new mother, the period after childbirth is hardly about getting back to how she looked before pregnancy. It comes with physical recovery, hormonal changes, sleepless nights, breastfeeding for those who choose or can, and adjusting to life with a newborn. Yet, the pressure to “bounce back” often begins almost immediately, with women expected to look and feel like their old selves within an unrealistic timeframe.
For a woman who has just gone through pregnancy and childbirth, however, recovery is not something that can be measured by how she looks in a photograph. “Postpartum recovery is not a makeover with a deadline. Pregnancy and childbirth bring profound physical, hormonal and emotional changes, and a woman’s body can take months or even longer to find its new equilibrium,” says Dr Akshta Amonkar, Consultant Gynaecologist, at Goa Medical College. Additionally, he points out that sleep deprivation, breastfeeding, hormonal fluctuations, changes in muscle tone and weight distribution, along with adjusting to life with a newborn, are all part of the journey.
Dr Aurelia Albuquerque, a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, also points to the physical and emotional changes that come with pregnancy and childbirth. “There is no fixed timeline for a woman to ‘bounce back’ after delivery,” she says, adding that weight, muscle tone, sleep, energy levels and emotional wellbeing can take many months to recover, particularly while caring for a newborn.
HEALING OVER APPEARANCE
Albuquerque firmly believes that the postpartum period should be about healing, nutrition, rest and support rather than meeting society’s beauty standards. “Women don’t owe anyone a ‘bounce-back’ body after childbirth,” Amonkar adds, stressing that there is no fixed timeline for recovery.
Dr Lorraine Noronha, meanwhile, stresses that appearance should be the last thing people focus on when looking at a postpartum mother. “The amount of physiological change that pregnancy puts a woman’s body through is immense and what she has just done is extraordinary,” she says, pointing to hormonal changes, uterine involution, breastfeeding, sleep deprivation and changes in fluid and fat distribution as some of the factors that can affect how a woman looks after pregnancy.
BEYOND SOCIAL MEDIA SCRUTINY
While the trolling of a celebrity may seem like just another social media controversy, the larger issue is the expectation that women should quickly look the way they did before pregnancy. Kaif’s appearance has also prompted public support and discussion about the pressure placed on new mothers, while the actor herself has recently spoken about how pregnancy changed her skin and how her idea of “looking her best” has changed.
For new mothers, the postpartum period is already filled with physical changes, sleepless nights, feeding, recovery, and adjusting to a completely new routine. Adding scrutiny over their appearance only adds another unnecessary pressure. As Dr Amonkar puts it, “A new mother needs support, not scrutiny.”
A photograph may capture how a woman looks on one particular day, but it cannot capture what her body has gone through to get there. The comments directed at Kaif are a reminder that perhaps the conversation around new mothers needs to move away from how quickly they “bounce back” and towards whether they are being given the time, care and understanding they need to recover.
