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"It's really hard to accept." Tiffiny Hall on the pressure to 'bounce back' after pregnancy.

Fitness entrepreneur Tiffiny Hall delivered an emotional message for new mums on her Instagram account on Wednesday.

The mum of two, who welcomed newborn daughter Vada last week, spoke openly to her followers about adapting to her new postpartum body.

"I just wanted to say how important it is to bounce forward," Tiff said, using a term she coined to stop new mums feeling like they have to 'bounce back' to their pre-baby bodies after childbirth.

Watch: Tiff Hall talks to Mia Freedman for No Filter about the 'bounce back' with her first child Arnold. Post continues below.


Video via Mamamia.

"It's not easy. It's not easy to bounce forward and take the pressure off. I stand in front of my mirror, looking at my new body with my big bump, Vada's house, and it's really hard to accept that it's going to take time," she added.

"I'm super emotional too," she said, her voice breaking.

"But it is going to take time. Healing takes time. It depends what birth you had too. I've got a few stitches and stuff going on and it's all a bit painful. But she's absolutely beautiful. She's worth it. "

Tiff also shared how her four-year-old son Arnold has been asking questions about her postpartum body. 

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"Arnie keeps asking why my tummy is so big. Bless him. He keeps saying, 'Is there another baby in there, Mum?' I'm trying to explain to him that it takes a long time for bodies to go back to normal. And it's hard to accept it, but you have to take it one day at a time."

In the post, Tiff also encouraged other new mums to be kind to themselves.

"You can't let those negative thoughts enter the brain. Everything the mind says, the body hears, and you've really got to remember that," she said.

After giving birth to her first child Arnold in 2017, Tiff spoke candidly about the pregnancy, the stressful birth, and how she struggled with her changing body.

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"I put on 30kg, I was sick the whole time - right up until my last contraction, and all I wanted was sausage rolls," she told news.com.au.

A few days after Arnold's birth, Tiff posted a photo of her holding her newborn son. The comments really surprised her. 

"All the comments were about my tummy and not my gorgeous baby," she told Stellar Magazine at the time.

"I was wearing a singlet, and I still looked very pregnant with fat arms, yet all these women were thanking me for being honest in showing my body. It made me realise that women really do feel pressure to bounce back - even five days after having a baby. 

"I thought, 'That’s it - I’m going to keep putting out images of my body.'"

The television personality also spoke to Mia Freedman on an episode of Mamamia's No Filter podcast about how media organisations approached her to do a photo shoot after Arnold's birth.

"I was approached by magazines to do a 'bounce back' cover shoot before my six-week postpartum check," Tiff shared

"That really upset me because they were assuming I'd be flogging myself in the gym as soon as Arnold came. 

"And I'm a trainer, so I know what it takes to lose weight to change your body, and that's training and a diet. And diet will affect my milk supply as I am solely breastfeeding and I didn't want to compromise that. But also time with my baby, as he's still getting to know me."

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Listen to Tiff Hall on Mamamia's No Filter. Post continues below.

Tiff has continued to share candid photos and social media posts about life as a mum and the pressures on women to look a certain way after childbirth. 

Her candid postpartum photos have been widely shared and praised for helping to generate conversations about real postpartum bodies.

"I could be worrying about my body and feeling pressure to bounce back or... I could just love my body because it is the strongest it’s ever been after labour and delivering a child," Tiff shared on Instagram after Arnold was born.

"There will come a time for me to get back into my fitness and Taekwondo, but as long as this brown line is here, it means it's my time to focus on self-care: from listening to a meditation podcast whilst doing the washing, eating as well as I can, drinking loads of water, doing pelvic floor lifts when feeding Arnold and allowing myself to just cry it out if that's what the moment calls for.

"This is mine, Ed's and Arnie's journey and there is no rush. We are stopping to smell all the baby roses."

We hope Tiff and Ed get to enjoy and smell all the baby roses this time around with baby Vada, too.

Feature Image: Instagram/@tiff_xo.

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