Hello ,to my favorite readers ,today I'm gonna talk about something so personal to me and l hope it can help a lot of women going through the same .So here is goes ......
There is so much that people do not say about postpartum.
We celebrate the baby, we admire the pictures, we talk about how blessed motherhood is and it truly is a blessing but many women quietly go through one of the hardest seasons of their lives while smiling on the outside. Postpartum is not just about having a baby. It is a full-body, emotional, spiritual, and mental transition. It changes everything.
For many women, postpartum comes with weight gain, hair loss, exhaustion, hormonal changes, tears, body pain, sleepless nights, discouragement, and a version of yourself you barely recognise. One moment you are grateful for your child, and the next moment you are wondering what happened to your body, your mind, your confidence, and sometimes even your joy. Both can be true at the same time. You can deeply love your baby and still struggle deeply with what postpartum is doing to you.
I want to speak honestly about that reality, because too many women are suffering in silence.
Postpartum fatigue is real. It is not just “being tired.” It is a deep, draining exhaustion that affects your body, emotions, and ability to cope. You are healing, feeding, carrying, comforting, waking through the night, trying to function, and still expected to keep going. The body you once knew feels different. The energy you once had seems far away. And when you add the pressure of looking okay, acting okay, and showing up okay, it can become overwhelming.
Then there is the weight gain.
People can be so cruel and careless with their words. They make comments as if a woman’s body is public property after she gives birth. They ask questions they have no right to ask. They compare you to who you used to be. They say things like, “What happened to you?” or “You have gained so much weight,” without understanding how much pain those words can carry. What they do not see is the physical recovery, the hormonal imbalance, the emotional load, the sleepless nights, and the silent battle happening inside.
I know this personally.
My own postpartum journey was painful in ways I did not expect. I experienced massive weight gain. I went four sizes up, and that was not easy for me to process. My body had changed so much that sometimes I struggled to recognise myself. I felt uncomfortable, discouraged, and vulnerable. It was not just about clothes not fitting — it was the emotional toll of feeling unlike myself. It was grieving the old me while trying to embrace the new me.
And then came the hair loss.
My hair was literally falling off. It was heartbreaking. As a woman, hair can be so closely tied to how you feel about yourself, your beauty, and your confidence. Watching it come out and thin so badly was devastating for me. In the end, I had to shave my hair bald. That was not an easy decision. It came with pain, with surrender, and with acceptance. It came with facing myself in a way I never had before.
I will be honest there were moments of discouragement. Moments of pain. Moments where people’s comments made an already difficult season even harder. Sometimes people do not realise how their words can wound someone who is already trying to survive. A woman in postpartum is often carrying more than anyone can see. She does not need criticism. She does not need comparison. She does not need mockery disguised as honesty. She needs grace. She needs gentleness. She needs support.
To the woman reading this who is in that place right now: I see you.
If your body has changed, I see you.
If your hair is falling out, I see you.
If you are tired beyond words, I see you.
If you feel unattractive, forgotten, or overwhelmed, I see you.
If the comments of people have cut deeply, I see you.
And more importantly, God sees you too.
Your postpartum journey is not a sign that you are failing. It is evidence that your body has been through something powerful. You carried life. You birthed life. You are healing. You are adjusting. You are rebuilding. That deserves compassion, not shame.
The Bible reminds us in Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Even in a body that feels unfamiliar, you are still wonderfully made. Even in the stretch marks, the scars, the tears, the extra weight, the hair loss, and the fatigue you are still precious in the eyes of God.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” That scripture speaks so deeply to me because postpartum can make you feel faint in every sense physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But God promises renewal. He promises strength for the weary.
And in 2 Corinthians 12:9, we are reminded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” There is no weakness in admitting postpartum is hard. There is no shame in saying, “This season broke me a little.” There is no failure in needing help, rest, prayer, time, or healing.
You are not weak because this season is hard. You are human.
And you are not alone.
Postpartum is a season, not your whole story. The weight can shift. The hair can recover. The strength can return. Confidence can be rebuilt. Joy can come back. Healing can happen. This version of you is still worthy of love, still worthy of care, and still worthy of being seen as beautiful.
Please be kind to yourself.
Speak gently to yourself.
Rest when you can.
Ask for help when you need it.
Do not measure yourself against other women.
Do not let social media rush your healing.
Do not let people’s comments define your value.
And if all you did today was survive and care for your baby, that is enough.
Motherhood is holy work. Healing is holy work too.
My prayer is that every woman walking through postpartum would know that she is not forgotten. That she would receive grace for the process. That she would not be crushed by the opinions of people. That she would find courage in her changing body and peace in her healing journey. That she would understand she is still beautiful, still chosen, still valuable, and still deeply loved by God.
Postpartum may change you, but it does not destroy you. In many ways, it introduces you to a stronger, softer, deeper version of yourself.
So to the woman in pain, to the woman hiding behind oversized clothes, to the woman crying over the hair in the comb, to the woman exhausted in silence, to the woman hurt by people’s careless words hold on.
This is not the end of you.
This is a chapter.
Healing is coming.
Strength is coming.
Peace is coming.
And above all, grace is here.
With love,
Colleta Ndhlovu