Gemma Atkinson has been praised by her fans as she proudly showed off her postpartum body after having a C-section when she welcomed her second child into the world.
The 38 year old former Hollyoaks star gave birth to her son earlier this month. She shares him with her fiancé, Strictly star Gorka Márquez, with whom she also shares daughter Mia, three.
Two weeks after the birth of her son, Thiago, Gemma took to Instagram to share a video of the realities of being postpartum, as she showed off her stomach in a candid video.
In the caption, Gemma talked about wearing breast pads, an 'industrial size sanitary pad' and having a swollen tummy.
She wrote: "All the things postpartum we go through. It’s very common for tummy’s to stay swollen after pregnancy and they usually stay swollen longer after a C section due to the inflammation and abdominal swelling from surgery. So don’t worry if you feel you still look pregnant as I do here. ITS NORMAL!
"I’m not expecting to look like my old self for months down the line yet. I haven’t even left the house other than pottering about in the garden. I’ve been mindful to rest as much as I can to aid recovery down the line. Weather permitting, towards the end of this week I’m going to start some short walks.
"Until I’ve had my mummy MOT that’s all the exercise I’ll be doing. What I’ve been focusing on instead is trying to make myself feel like my old self, and so far it’s worked."
Gemma continued: "Despite broken sleep for 2 weeks I feel really good Upbeat, and ready to take on the day. The simple things I’ve been doing are…
"Cold showers. I can’t yet use the ice bath but I’ve stood under cold water every morning for a minute letting it run on my pituitary gland (base of the neck) It’s responsible for regulating so many functions in the body and essentially kick starts your system in the morning.
"It works a treat for boosting your mood. Secondly, my nutrition. I’m 12lb down since coming home from hospital. 2 stone to go yet. With my hormones slowly settling and the cravings for crap which I had in pregnancy going I’m back to eating my usual foods. I’m snacking a lot as anyone will tell you breast feeding makes you hungry and we need the extra calories to feed."
Gemma went on to say that she's been snacking on healthy things, such as 'yogurt, fruit, boiled eggs and dark chocolate' whereas, during her pregnancy, her go-to snacks were 'bread and Haribo'.
The actress went on to talk about how she is practicing positive affirmations as she tells herself "I can do this" on the night feeds.
Her followers praised her for her honesty in the comments on the post, as one said: "You look amazing! You should be so proud of yourself for being real! Showing other mums it’s normal to look the way they do after having a baby and not ‘springing’ back into shape, exercise and normal life because thats not reality. Myself and many other women look up to you for this very reason so never ever change xx."
Another said: "You sound fabulously relaxed, normalising post parting bodies is so healthy for others to see and you look strong! Love your posts."
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