The Myth of the Instant Post Baby Body

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So the gossip rags media is at it again, pushing a false unattainable and unrealistic image and standard of how quick a woman should lose her baby weight after pregnancy and giving birth.

This time, the suspect folks at US Weekly thought it was a good idea to erase some of Kourtney Kardashian's post baby body for the cover issue where she showed off her new baby for the first time. Kourtney and her on again/off again boyfriend Scott Disick welcomed baby Mason Dash Disick on December 14 in Los Angeles.

The cover (above left) features a photo of the new mother taken on December 22 - just a week after giving birth to son Mason - with her previously billowing tunic digitally reduced to make her look like she had already lost the baby weight.

The U.S. edition of OK! magazine claimed to have an exclusive with the 30-year-old, quoting her as saying: 'My diet secrets - lose 10lbs in 10 days.'

According to a Daily Mail article:

Kourtney told Women's Wear Daily: 'They doctored and Photoshopped my body to make it look like I have already lost all the weight, which I have not.'

I love Khourtney for standing out against the egregious airbrushing. She tweeted about the madness, adding: 'One of those weeklies got it wrong again… they didn’t have an exclusive with me.

'And I gained 40 pounds while pregs, not 26... But thanks.'

The original image of Kourtney wearing a white tunic was taken by photographer Albert Michaels from the StarTraks agency and was first published in rival magazine Life & Style's January 11issue. So it wasn't even an exclusive. How are they going to take a photo, change the clothes (notice they even changed the sweater the baby is wearing) and then call it an exclusive?!

If you look closely, they even photo-shopped the baby to look Whiter! WTH!?!

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And of course the problem of photoshop is prevalent and horrific as it creates an illusion among young girls, women and the general public of a false and idolized sense of beauty. Check out this Newsweek slideshow that chronicled a decade of photoshop scandals.

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I am uncertain when the entire obsession with rapid weight loss post baby started. I do recall vividly the buzz surrounding Heidi Klum when she appeared walking in the Victoria Secret fashion show a mere 8 weeks after giving birth to her and Seal's first son, Rohan Riley Fyodor Taiwo Samuel in November 2006. There is no way in hell a regular average woman can look like this so soon after giving birth...

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I think one of the harshest response to a mom post baby body happened with Britney Spears when she staged her first comeback and clearly was not back to her uber svelt pre baby self. She still looked phenomenal compared to many women who had given birth within the same year, but she got lambasted and called FAT! I hardly call this FAT though I admit to getting caught up because she was soo much fit and svelter pre-baby. What should I expect? We all get lost in the distortion.

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The fact of the matter is celebrities should not be held to the standard. It takes 9 months to pack on the weight and the average woman should not expect to take it off in less than 9 months. The obsession with the post baby melt down is out of control and yes these women are paid to look good and can lose out on roles if they take too long to get back into shape, but it is disturbing that as soon after she pops out a baby, there is a photo of her on the cover of one of those weeklies a few weeks later touting how she lost the baby weight fast. It presents to regular woman and people in general that it is normal to expect the baby weight to melt off. Many times, these celebrities lie through their teeth claiming the weight came off breast feeding or exercising and eating healthy. I would hedge my bets that some get tummy tucks and liposuction on the C-section operating table. Others I wouldn't doubt engage in some dangerous diets.

It will take some serious change in societal standards for us to realize that there is no way in hell a woman can have a baby one week and be back to her pre-baby size weeks after...it's just not normal. This is not to say some do not obtain this...as I am aware of women who can and have, it's just not average. I do wish the magazines would stop rushing to put new celebrity moms on their covers with their new post-baby bodies...well at least not weeks after they give birth anyway!

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Some more unrealistic bounce backs:
Jessica Alba less than 3 months after her daughter, Honor Marie, was born.


Bachelorette Trista Sutter put on nearly 43 pounds before giving birth in April, a big jump from her normally 110-pound frame. She supposedly bounced back to 108 pound in 6 months!


Grey’s Anatomy Ellen Pompeo 39-year-old two weeks after giving birth on September 15th, appeared at an October 1 event.
Kendra Wilkinson had a C-section and the doctors strictly prohibit certain exercises because of the incision and the fact that a c-section is major surgery. So it baffled me to see her all up on Ok! magazine with a barbell in her hand. She is seen below with her 3 1/2 week old son Hank Jr.

Just 30 days after the birth of her twin baby girls, Rebecca Romijn shows off her amazing post-baby body. Can't believe this woman had twins!

Halle Berry, a little over one month after giving birth to her daughter in 2008 was seen at an industry event looking this fabulous. At least she still has her full boobage showing.
And I honestly think Nicole Kidman takes the cake! Check out how skinny this chick got only 2 months after giving birth. This just looks tres suspect. Did she stop eating after having her baby?
Okay, I lied porn star Jenna Jameson looked like this only 4 months after having twins! Sounds like a tummy tuck was performed at the C-section table if you ask me.

Okay, I lied, Nicole Richie getting back to a size 0 jeans two weeks after giving birth takes the cake!


The most realistic I was able to find during a search was Gwen Stefani. This photo taken 2 weeks after she gave birth show a more reasonable post-baby body.

Who to blame, the magazines for pushing this ridiculous standard or the public who buys magazines and want to believe in the myth of the instant post-baby body?

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