6-month-pregnant designer's toned belly shocks Instagram: 'Our bodies and bumps are all different'
In a powerful as well as educational post, the expectant mother explained why her baby bump is not showing.
With the ongoing trend of flaunting baby bumps on Instagram, a six-month-pregnant Australian woman has come under fire because she is barely showing. Yiota Kouzoukas, a fashion designer from Brisbane, was bombarded with "DMs and comments regarding the size of her bump" from her followers.
But, the mum-to-be is not keeping quiet any longer.
Yiota, who is in her second trimester, took to the same platform to take on the haters. But instead of slamming them, she chose to explain the exact reason behind her barely-there pregnant belly.
"I want to explain a few things about my body," the 29-year-old wrote alongside a picture showing her bare belly as she posed in her underwear. "Not that I'm upset/affected by these comments at all, but more for the reason of educating in the hope that some people are less judgmental on others and even themselves," she added.
Explaining why, unlike many other expectant mothers, she didn't have a fully grown bump, Yiota shared, "For the first 4 months of my pregnancy, my uterus was retroverted/tilted which means that I was growing backwards into my body rather than outwards.
"Most people with this type of uterus tilt forward at around 12 weeks and continue growing outwards like you normally would. My uterus didn't 'flip forward' until well into being 4 months pregnant because of the backwards-tilted position paired with decade old endometriosis scarring that I have on my uterosacral ligaments," she continued.
However, at six months pregnant, the Australian designer has finally begun showing a bit of that baby bump, but that comes along with certain precautionary steps, as she explained.
"My torso is also short and my stomach is naturally toned which is keeping my belly super tight, so I've had to personally stop all ab exercises to avoid any issues with possible ab separation," she said. "This is for me personally, as instructed by my doctor and is in no way a blanket rule for anyone else."
After assuring her 200,000-plus Instagram followers that both she and her baby are perfectly healthy, the mother-to-be concluded her post with a strong message. "Our bodies and bumps are all different and our shapes and sizes are all different too," she wrote, followed by a heart emoticon.
And needless to say, her post has resonated with many women on the site, who praised Yiota for speaking out on the matter.
"Don't let them get to you. Every pregnancy, like every person, is different," shared one user, while another added, "Thank you for posting such an educational post. I had no idea that was something that was even possible."
Meanwhile, Yiota continues to flaunt her growing baby bump with picture-posts that range from adorable to stunning.
