The hype created by celebrity yummy mummies like Angelina Jolie and Jessica Alba has put women under pressure to lose weight quickly after giving birth, reveals a new Australian study.
The study conducted by Deakin University showed that more than one in four women are usually or always dissatisfied with their post-baby body. Researcher Lucia Bongiorno said that the hype created by celebrity yummy mummies has also contributed to an unrealistic ideal.
"People are obsessed with celebrity babies and celebrity pregnancies," the Courier Mail quoted her as saying. "Babies have become a must-have sort of item,” she added.
Although the study involving 346 mothers of infants aged 1-12 months compare themselves with their peers with babies and child-free friends, they felt the most pressure to lose post-baby weight from the media.Moreover, some fathers also pressured their partners not to gain too much weight while pregnant and to lose it quickly after giving birth. Bongiorno said while mums compared themselves most to peers, their peers were also likely to be influenced by the same media images.
"Both mothers and their peers with new babies, when confronted by media pictures of celebrity mothers such as Bec Hewitt, are saying ''I''ve got to look like that''," she said. "But celebrity mothers typically have nannies and personal trainers ... the average mother doesn''t. So such an expectation is unfair on themselves," she added.
The study will be presented at the Australian Psychological Society conference in Darwin.
"Both mothers and their peers with new babies, when confronted by media pictures of celebrity mothers such as Bec Hewitt, are saying ''I''ve got to look like that''," she said. "But celebrity mothers typically have nannies and personal trainers ... the average mother doesn''t. So such an expectation is unfair on themselves," she added.
The study will be presented at the Australian Psychological Society conference in Darwin.