Why Kim Kardashian's Pregnancy Weight Confession Matters

Since announcing that she’s expecting a second child, Kim Kardashian has been refreshingly honest: She has opened up about her struggles to conceive, admitted that she doesn’t love being pregnant, and on Tuesday night, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star tweeted about her weight gain, revealing that she has put on 52 pounds thus far.

“Ok I’m 52 lbs up today….and I still have 6 weeks to go! I got my work cut out for me!!!!” Kardashian wrote, accompanied by three emoticons of a flexed bicep.

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The post comes a month after the star wrote on her website and app about how much she dislikes pregnancy — a sentiment tons of pregnant women can likely relate to. After all, for plenty of expecting moms, the nine months of pregnancy are far from the blissful experience so many celebrities make it out to be.

“For me, pregnancy is the worst experience of my life!” Kardashian, who is expecting a boy in December, wrote. “I’m not sure why I don’t like the experience like others do. Maybe it’s the swelling, the backaches or just the complete mindf**k of how your body expands and nothing fits. I just always feel like I’m not in my own skin. It’s hard to explain. I don’t feel sexy, either — I feel insecure and most of the time I just feel gross.”

Kim Kardashian revealed on Twitter that she has gained 52 pounds in 34 weeks of pregnancy. (Photo: Instagram/Kim Kardashian)

That said, the mom-to-be has embraced her bump during this pregnancy in a way she didn’t when she was carrying North in 2013. “This time around, I know what I like — plus, I am confident and not trying to hide my bump. I actually want to accentuate it,” she wrote in an October post. “It’s such a trip how your body grows and changes, and at the end of the day, you have to wear what you are comfortable in and what you feel good in.”

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Kardashian added in that post that she has actually gained more weight during her second pregnancy, even though she feels better. “I actually am a few pounds heavier this pregnancy than my last, yet somehow I look so different,” she wrote. “Maybe it’s because you carry a boy differently than a girl, maybe it’s because I don’t have the swelling that I had last time when I had preeclampsia, or maybe it’s because I am confident in my style and know what to expect.”

Kim Kardashian says that during her second pregnancy, she is dressing to accentuate her bump. (Photo: Instagram/Kim Kardashian)

Not many stars have been as open and honest as Kardashian has, which is likely a source of comfort to the many expectant moms out there who are obsessing over the scale. In July, she tweeted that she’d gained 20 pounds in as many weeks. And though the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends a total weight gain of 25 to 35 pounds for women who begin their pregnancies at a healthy weight, doctors acknowledge that every woman, and every pregnancy, is different.

Kardashian isn’t the only celebrity who has admitted to gaining more than the recommended amount. Actress and model Molly Sims was open about gaining 80 pounds during her first pregnancy, while Kourtney Kardashian revealed that she gained nearly 45 pounds when she was pregnant with her daughter, Penelope.

Commenters on Twitter chimed in on Tuesday night in support of Kim’s candor. “I gained a lot both times, worked out, ate decently too. You will lose it with hard work — it’s all good!!!” wrote one user. “Love your honestly! [sic] I gained 50 with first pregnancy and lost it all in 6 months. You can do it,” added another. And from another mom: “You still look great! Making me feel better about what I gained though.”

Dr. Robyn Silverman, body image expert and author of Good Girls Don’t Get Fat: How Weight Obsession Is Messing Up Our Girls And How We Can Help Them Thrive Despite It, says it’s always encouraging to see stars being honest about their weight. “I think it’s great when celebrities embrace their pregnant bodies, celebrating the life that is on the way and the gorgeous vessel that carries it,” Silverman tells Yahoo Parenting. Still, she said, she wishes that same attitude could persist on the flipside, when the “post-baby body” pressure is at its height. “There is a lot more work to be done in the acceptance of the post-pregnancy bodies that often seem hidden or criticized if not exercised and starved to ‘pre-pregnancy weight’ before seen in public,” she said. “Women must be embraced throughout the pregnancy process — which includes post-pregnancy. I would love to see celebrities weigh in more on body love at that time, not just while they have their baby bump.”

Kardashian, for one, has acknowledged that while getting back into shape after giving birth is not easy, it’s a welcome — and empowering — task. “As much as I really hate the whole feeling of being pregnant, I enjoy the challenge of getting my body back after it’s all over,” she wrote on her website. “I feel so accomplished when I’m back to where I want to be.”

(Top photo: Instagram/Kim Kardashian)

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