Happiness is Beautiful

There are numerous studies to support that over half of pregnant women worldwide experience lower self-esteem at some point during pregnancy. It is important to note that there are some factors that seem to influence low self esteem during pregnancy, such as partner satisfaction, education level, and whether or not the pregnancy was planned. While your body is going through so many rapid changes, you can sometimes feel as though your body is no longer your own, which can be scary. Remember that this is just a chapter in your book, and what you are doing is the most powerful and transformative feat any human can do.

In a 2010 study, conducted in Brazil, titled, “The Assessment of Self-Esteem in Pregnant Women Using Rosenberg’s Self Esteem Scale”, they looked at various aspects of pregnant women’s lives, and tracked some of the biggest factors contributing to low self esteem. Here are the 3 main factors that they found.

• The women with less education showed a higher frequency of dissatisfactory self-esteem scores

• The pregnant women who stated that they had an unplanned pregnancy had a higher prevalence of dissatisfactory self-esteem than those that had planned the pregnancy.

• The lack of support from the partner to take care of the baby after its birth was also shown to contribute to negative self-esteem.

It is a common misconception that in order to feel happy, you must feel beautiful, but actually, in order to feel beautiful, you must feel happy. While makeup can enhance your beauty, it can only go so far. Nothing is more beautiful than a smile. Remember that you are where you are supposed to be, you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, you are trying your best...and that is beautiful.