Body image after baby
For mothers struggling to accept a body that feels unfamiliar since birth.
No one really prepares you for this part — looking in the mirror after birth and not recognising yourself. The softness, the stretch marks, the scar. The way your body feels different, even though it just did something extraordinary.
And yet the pressure starts immediately: bounce back, get your body back, lose the baby weight. As if your worth depends on returning to who you were before motherhood.
This isn't vanity
If you're avoiding mirrors, dreading photos, or feeling uncomfortable in your own skin, you're not alone.
This isn't vanity. It's identity. It's grief. It's trying to adjust to a body that changed while you were busy caring for a baby who needs everything from you.
These feelings can be stronger after birth trauma, fertility struggles, postpartum depression or anxiety, or years of body criticism. Motherhood can reopen old wounds you thought had healed.
Building a kinder relationship
Therapy isn't about loving your body every day. It's about building a kinder, more compassionate relationship with yourself.
Together, we'll explore the beliefs you've carried about your body, where they came from, and how they shape the way you see yourself now. We'll work toward replacing criticism with compassion and finding respect for the body that carried you through pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.
What your children will remember
Your children won't remember your size. They'll remember that you got in the pool, danced in the kitchen, cuddled them close — that you were present.
You spent months growing a human. Your body doesn't owe anyone a "bounce back." It deserves care, kindness, and deep respect.
Together, we can
- Explore the beliefs you carry about your body and where they came from
- Replace criticism with compassion
- Find respect for the body that carried you through motherhood
- Build a relationship with your body that allows you to be present
Note: For specialist treatment for birth trauma and eating disorders, please see a specialist in those areas. I can provide a referral if helpful.
Medicare rebates may apply with a Mental Health Treatment Plan. See fees & rebates.
Other ways I can help
Antenatal anxiety
Worry and dread during pregnancy that won't switch off, no matter how 'fine' everything is.
The 2am anxiety spiral
Why everything feels worse at night — and you can't sleep even when the baby is.
Postnatal depression
When the early months feel heavy, flat or frightening — not the joy you were promised.