Witney Carson Speaks Candidly About Postpartum Body Image Struggles

Witney Carson is still adjusting to life as a mom after welcoming her first child in January.

The Dancing With the Stars pro, 27, spoke candidly with fans about some of the struggles she’s faced, including issues with body image and mom guilt. Carson admitted that she was in a hurry to resume her pre-baby fitness routine to get back into shape.

“Started working out this last week,” she captioned a Saturday, February 27, post via her Instagram Story. “I pushed my body sooooo hard because I wanted to be back to my pre baby body so bad…, I ended up really hurting my back & now it hurts to even pick up Leo.”

Carson continued: “Was a huge lesson for me to be patient & to not be so hard on myself. My body has gone through so much & I can’t expect to get where I was overnight. Just a reminder for anyone on this journey too!”

Later that day, the Utah native shared a response to her post from a mom experiencing similar postpartum woes.

“I FEEL THIS! I just had a baby via c section 2 months ago. This past week I’ve been pushing myself, but it’s not helping. It’s hard to be patient, but I know I’ll only fully heal if I give myself time and trust that it will all be okay. Just know you’re not alone! Thanks for sharing, and reminding moms like me that I’M not alone either. It can be hard seeing people who just ‘bounce’ back. But glad to see how real you’ve been with this whole process. Cause as GREAT and amazing as it is having a baby, it’s so rough on us moms sometimes! Sending love to you and your cute family.”

Carson added, “This,” with a white heart and praying hands emoji.

The professional dancer also talked about another issue she’s dealt with since welcoming her baby boy: mom guilt. During a Q&A with fans via Instagram, she revealed that it was more difficult than she thought it would be.

“I think the mom guilt has hit me harder than I thought,” she admitted. “If anything goes wrong I tend to blame myself which I know is irrational & not true.. I’m working on it!!”

Carson has been open with her fans about her postpartum experience since welcoming Leo with husband Carson McAllister on January 3. She shared her birth story with Us Weekly on February 10, revealing that it was “traumatic.”

She recalled, “I pushed for two and a half hours. I was fully dilated and the baby just did not want to come out. He just was, like, stuck underneath my pelvis for so long. His heart rate started going really high. So we had to do an emergency C-section and obviously, we did whatever was right for the baby.”

She told Us Leo “wasn’t coming out,” adding that she wasn’t “prepared” to have a C-section.

“I had in my head that I was not going to do that at all,” the Emmy nominee revealed. “We’re just really happy that he’s healthy. That’s the most important thing.”

The So You Think You Can Dance alum said she struggled to heal after the surgery, noting that she was “slower to recover” than some. “My body’s used to that extreme, push it to the limit, 24 hours a day, all day, [action].” She called this experience “humbling,” telling Us, “I had so many wrong expectations.”

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Source: US Magazine Entertainment News