Pregnancy changes your body in ways that are hard to fully prepare for, and how you feel about those changes can shift from one day to the next. There is no single right way to experience it. Some days there is genuine awe at what your body is capable of. Other days it can feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable, or both at once.
When your body feels unfamiliar
When your body changes as quickly as it does in pregnancy, it can feel as though the ground has shifted under you. You might find it feels unfamiliar, no longer quite yours to recognise in the way it was before. That sense of strangeness is a reasonable response to something genuinely significant happening to you.2
The pressure around what pregnancy is supposed to look and feel like can make this harder. The image of a glowing, radiant pregnancy is so common that when your experience drifts from it, the gap can leave you feeling guilty, isolated, or like you are doing something wrong. That gap says more about the image than it does about you.3
Unsolicited comments about the size or shape of your bump can add to this too. They are rarely meant unkindly, but they can land heavily. You do not have to take them on.4
Holding conflicting feelings at the same time
You can feel grateful for a pregnancy and find your changing body hard to live in at the same time. Gratitude and discomfort sit together more often than not. When there is pressure to feel only grateful, it can be harder to name the difficult feelings, or to raise them with anyone. Both are allowed.5
Positive feelings and harder ones often run alongside each other through pregnancy, rather than one replacing the other. You may find your feelings about your body shift week by week, or even day by day, as your body changes and as you settle into each new stage.
What can help with body image in pregnancy feelings
Talking about how you are feeling, whether with a partner, a friend, or a family member, can help. You do not have to wait until things feel overwhelming to raise it with someone you trust.6
Shifting your attention from how your body looks to what it is doing is something some people find useful. Your body is growing another person, which is physical work on a scale it has not done before. Focusing on that, rather than on how you look, can offer a different frame. You might find short, specific reminders of what your body is capable of help, though this works differently for everyone.7
Gentle movement, such as walking or swimming, is something many people find helpful during pregnancy for both mood and feeling more at home in their body. It is worth checking with your midwife or GP before you start or change any exercise routine in pregnancy, since what suits you depends on your own situation.8
Taking breaks from social media can also ease the pull of curated pregnancy images on how you feel about your own body. The images that travel furthest online tend to show a narrow and often edited version of pregnancy, and seeing them regularly can make comparison hard to avoid.9
When to seek support
Perinatal mental health services exist specifically to support you during pregnancy and in the time after birth. Your GP or midwife can tell you what is available where you are and how to reach it.