How 'mummy tummy' became the latest body image anxiety

A cosmetic cream, said to help reduce a woman's post-natal stomach bulge, has been launched - prompting reports of rush buying. But why does it seem women are suddenly worried about this most natural result of pregnancy?

It's a miracle apparently. A new cream costing £18.85 with "fat-burning ingredients" that can help banish a mummy tummy - the softness around the midriff most women are left with after having a baby.
That women worry about their stomachs - and bodies - after giving birth is nothing new. The average woman puts on two-and-a-half stone during pregnancy, so it's no wonder her stomach muscles are left looser than they were.
But in recent years this natural body change has been given its own moniker. At the same time, the raft of celebrity-focused magazines and tabloid newspapers seem to be keeping a watching brief on which famous mothers are winning - and losing - their battle with this baby bulge.
Part of this burgeoning obsession is to do with changing times, says Dr Mary Jane Kehily, from the Open University's Making of Modern Motherhood project.Bumps on show
Historically pregnancy was seen as a confinement, she notes, whereas now it is celebrated and "very public". Women and their pregnancy bumps are very much on show, often literally. This continues after birth.
“Start Quote

Women always talked about these issues to friends, but now they are out in the open and that is good in many ways”

End Quote Lowri Turner Journalist and mother


This, coupled with changing linguistic fashions, has resulted in "playful" terms such as "yummy mummy", "mummy tummy", even "mummy job" - a post-childbirth surgical stomach tuck. But such terms are also the result of another significant shift in society, says Dr Kehily.
"A key change driving such phrases is women delaying childbirth until they are older," she says. "By then many have established careers and are not just mothers. They also have a disposable income and pregnancy nowadays is an industry.
"The teenage mums in our study don't talk about things like a mummy tummy. They have more chance of springing back into shape as they are younger, so it's not an issue for them. They also aren't targeted like older women who tend to have more money."
Journalist, nutritional therapist and mother-of-three Lowri Turner agrees. Older mothers have unwittingly spawned a potentially lucrative new market.
"Many women are older when they marry and have children now. They often have the spending power that previous generations didn't. There is now a concept of 'me time' among mothers, that didn't exist when my mother was raising me. She didn't go for a facials or a massages.
"The other issue is more women are getting divorced and are back on the dating scene, so are more concerned about their bodies."
The surge in paparazzi snaps of celebrity mothers going about their lives has given mums something "to compare ourselves to" says Turner.Not fat, muscle tone Pregnant women are no longer hiding their bulges

The term yummy mummy dates back to 1993, says Dr Robert Groves, editor of the Collins Dictionary Of The English Language. He spies an insidious factor in it and the more recent "mummy tummy".
"Rhyme is clearly a factor [but it] makes each of these phrases seem playful, even fun, despite the fact that they all point to very real anxieties about modern life."
But while great claims are often made of "miracle" fat-burning creams, a woman's post-natal bulge is not so much about fat as muscle tone, says fitness expert Dr Joanna Helcke.
"During pregnancy the abdominals have to stretch and lengthen enormously. No other muscle in the body will have to stretch like that," says the specialist in ante- and post-natal personal training.
"In two thirds of women the abdominals will separate completely to allow for expansion, afterwards they need to realign and will most likely need help to do so.
"When it comes to tackling that soft, jelly belly women notice after birth, it's not just about fat burning - it's physiological too. It's about strengthening muscles."
So a cream is unlikely to be the solution, it would seem.
And while it may be tempting to blame today's celebrity-fixated media for planting yet another body image insecurity in women, Lowri Turner says it would be foolish to believe it's an entirely modern obsession.
"I think women probably always talked about these issues to friends, but now they are out in the open and in the public domain and that's good in some ways," says Turner. "It acknowledges that women are sexual and that doesn't just stop because they become mothers. They still want to look good and feel confident about their bodies." (from BBC)

Excersie,eg get pram buggy and walk will make it go down and any other type will do the trick

how many babies have you given birth to gsyguy?

was wondering the same thing kat.when i hadmy children i didnt drive and walked everywhere pushing a pram/pushchair and i still have mummy tummy lol x

do the exersises for tummy and abs ...simples

too late for me now gsygy.....maybe you should try looking after a new baby ,a home,husband/partner,other kids and try fitting in a bit of other exersice in a day...lol x

Sorry to Hi-Jack the slimline debate - but it sort of fits in with the theme!!!!
.......and makes you wonder what happened to common sense????


Read a scary story in the Mail yesterday....(not for the first time) but a rather large lady who has an 11 year old daughter - has had that child on 700 calories a day since she was two - her reasoning is she wants her daughter to be beautiful!! and admired!!!! so she controls everything she eats - I will be very surprised if someone doesn't step in and remove the poor kid (who is probably totally screwed up about body image now)

ahhhhhh Karma u didnt add that MUM i a Lard ass herself and she doesn't want kid to be like her,some sense there but...all she has to do is give her healthy food and make sure shes active,unlike todays who feed them um healthy 3 meals a day with treats and the usual rubbish and make them stay indoors,agree shes a lil over the top,go to itv player and watch Loose women it was on there....
and Thistle one sleeps when baby sleeps (yeah right) and as for the other kids lock em in room and sort out rooms and other stuff then rrelease them whilst holdin BIG STICK in hand and warn them Stick Bum hurts they get the message and as for husband fed him water him let him have remote stay quiet hes sorted

Read a scary story in the Mail yesterday....(not for the first time) but a rather large lady who has an 11 year old daughter - has had that child on 700 calories a day since she was two - her reasoning is she wants her daughter to be beautiful!! and admired!!!! so she controls everything she eats - I will be very surprised if someone doesn't step in and remove the poor kid (who is probably totally screwed up about body image now)

I was being a tad kinder than calling the lady a Lard ass - but it is very dangerous to restrict a growing child - in fact it amounts to cruelty (and what's the betting once said child is a teen and in charge of herself she will make up for all the forbidden times and probably overdo it then........lifes like that