Were You Confident In Your Body During Your Pregnancy?

There is something about a pregnant woman’s body that radiates confidence.

Ten years ago, my boss was pregnant, and I clearly remember how she came into the office with the shortest, skin-tight dresses and her belly on display. Before her pregnancy, she was a jeans and t-shirt, low-key, boss lady type of girl. And before my boss, it was my mother. When my mother was pregnant with my sister, I used to call her “Mitin,” which means tight mini-skirt in Mina (spoken in our country of origin, Togo). I called her Mitin because my conservative mom started wearing short dresses and exhibited more confidence than I had ever seen before.

The embodiment of carrying a life increases our confidence.

A pregnant body is one of the strongest and most revered bodies. Hence why I found myself becoming more confident during my first pregnancy. I enjoyed being fully naked and taking pictures of my pregnant body. I did not do professional maternity pictures, but I saw a change in my attitude toward my body. My skin glowed, and I felt happier about myself. So, I can say from my experience that feeling more confident while pregnant is a mixture of your apparent body changes, the surge of pregnancy hormones, and mental awareness of being pregnant. This combination provided me with a change in attitude about my pregnancy. However, I would encourage women to realize how powerful their body is, regardless of being pregnant or not.

Now that I am pregnant with my second child, the changes in my body are more noticeable. I had a difficult first trimester so my confidence in my body began to diminish. My focus shifted to my well-being and getting through the day. Each day was difficult, and I could count on one hand the number of days I felt the joy of being pregnant. Since being in my second trimester, the severe pregnancy symptoms have continued. I have made medical choices to alleviate some of these symptoms to provide myself and my child with better days. Thankfully those symptoms are subsiding and I am on the way to enjoying all the wonders of my second journey.