"Lydia* first started thinking about weight-loss drugs during pregnancy. Everyone was talking about them and the advertisements were everywhere, she says, as her baby son naps upstairs. I remember thinking: That's how I'll lose weight for my wedding next year.' When Lydia explains that most of her life before pregnancy was spent in a welter of yo-yo dieting and body dissatisfaction, I say to her that I think most of us can relate."
"In her antenatal class WhatsApp group once a space where pictures of their growing bumps and tips on how to get labour started were shared babies started arriving and so did conversations about feeding. Suddenly, diet and weight loss entered the chat. Out of the group of six mums, three decided not to breastfeed or gave up early to either crash diet or go on weight-loss jabs both of which are advised against during breastfeeding due to their impact on both milk quality and supply."
Lydia considered weight-loss drugs during pregnancy after widespread advertising and online conversations normalized them. Pregnancy initially produced unexpected body acceptance, followed by renewed dread as her due date neared. An antenatal WhatsApp group shifted from sharing bump photos to discussing feeding, and diet and weight loss became central. Several group members stopped breastfeeding or quit early to pursue crash diets or weight-loss injections, despite advice against such choices during lactation because of effects on milk supply and quality. Lydia persisted with breastfeeding, even while her newborn was very ill in neonatal care, but later noticed weight gain rather than the expected postpartum weight loss as social exposure to injections increased.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]