Taking to Instagram, Brisbane-based Yiota Kouzoukas – who is the co-owner of fashion label Sabo Skirt – said she has received a lot of messages and comments about the size of her bump.
She said the comments had led to a desire to ‘explain a few things about my body’.
‘Not that I’m upset/affected by these comments at all, but more for the reason of educating in the hope that some people are less judgemental on others and even themselves,’ the mum-to-be wrote.
‘For the first 4 months of my pregnancy, my uterus was retroverted/tilted which means that I was growing backwards into my body rather than outwards,’ she explained.
‘Most people with this type of uterus tilt forward at around 12 weeks and continue growing outwards like you normally would.
‘My uterus didn’t “flip forward” until well into being 4 months pregnant because of the backwards tilted position paired with decade old endometriosis scarring that I have on my uterosacral ligaments.
‘Basically, these ligaments are acting like anchors keeping my uterus “inside” rather than “outside”, which is why I appeared smaller than most people for the first 4 or 5 months.
‘Now, at #6monthspregnant I’m growing forwards just like everyone else while the scarring on my ligaments slowly breaks down.
‘My torso is also short and my stomach is naturally toned which is keeping my belly super tight, so I’ve had to personally stop all ab exercises to avoid any issues with possible ab separation.
‘This is for me personally, as instructed by my doctor and is in no way a blanket rule for anyone else. I’m perfectly healthy, baby is perfectly healthy and that’s all that matters.
‘Our bodies and bumps are all different and our shapes and sizes are all different too.’