Kylie Jenner is speaking out about the “pressure” to get back to her pre-baby body and mind following the birth of her son Wolf.
On Tuesday, the Kylie Cosmetics founder, who gave birth to her second child with Travis Scott in February, got candid on her Instagram Stories about heading back to the gym at six weeks postpartum despite not feeling totally like herself.
“I just want to say to all my postpartum moms, that postpartum has not been easy. It’s not been easy, it’s very hard,” she explained. “This experience for me personally has been a little harder than with my daughter. It’s not easy mentally, physically, spiritually.”
She added that she knows what it’s like to “look on the internet” and think things “look a lot easier for other people.” However, she said things are not easy for her.
“I didn’t even think I’d make it to this workout today, but I’m here, and I’m feeling better, so you got this,” Jenner said.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) exercise is a good idea after giving birth — but intense workouts aren’t necessary. Per the ACOG, 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week is ideal. That can even be broken down into three 10-minute walks, five days a week.
Jenner also reminded her 318 million Instagram followers that “it’s OK not to be OK.”
“I just keep reminding myself I made a whole human,” Jenner explained. “A beautiful healthy boy. And we have to stop putting pressure on ourselves to be back, not even physically, just mentally, after birth. So, yeah, just sending some love.”
It’s common for people who recently gave birth to experience the feelings that Jenner is describing. Hormone changes, as well as general stress from parenting an infant, can lead to anxiety, restlessness, sleep loss and irritability — sometimes called the “baby blues,” which last for weeks, according to Stanford Children’s Health.
The Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum, who will join her sisters on their upcoming Hulu reality series in April, kept her first pregnancy hidden from the world in order to maintain her privacy. Her second pregnancy with Wolf was more public.
Despite the challenges to getting back to her pre-baby self, Jenner told ELLE in September 2021 of becoming a mom, “Motherhood really feels like something I was always meant to do. Watching Stormi experience everything for the first time has been the best part of these last few years.”
In May 2021, she spoke to Tmrw magazine about parenthood, explaining that “becoming a mom” was the “biggest change.”
“I’ve grown so much as a person and I continue to grow every single day,” she told the outlet. “I love learning and I’m trying to be the best person I can possibly be. It’s been such a challenging year but the silver lining was that I had so much more time to spend with my family.”
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