Halle Bailey speaks out on postpartum body struggles following online criticism

Actress and singer Halle Bailey is speaking honestly about how she feels about her body after becoming a mother.

In a video she initially shared on Snapchat and later reposted on TikTok, the 25-year-old said she feels "really insecure" about her body since giving birth to her son, Halo, in January 2024.

“Right now, I’m a little thicker than I usually am,” she said. “And I feel really insecure about it, a little bit.”

Bailey explained that she had always been very slim, around 120 pounds before her pregnancy. She noted that while breastfeeding, she lost a significant amount of weight and initially believed her body had returned to its pre-pregnancy state. However, months later, she has noticed a difference.

“Now that I’m 25, I feel like the weight sticks more,” she added.

The Little Mermaid star is currently on vacation and mentioned it's the first real break she's had in a long time. She had been working daily while also caring for her baby, which left her with little time to exercise.

“I didn’t have time to work out. I was on set and then home with Halo. So I kind of fell off my workouts,” she said. “I’m a little fluffy right now.”

Bailey also shared that she had made a video with her sister, Chloe Bailey, but later asked her to take it down. After reading online comments about her body, she felt even more self-conscious.

“I got in my head,” she said. “People were talking about my body. I felt insecure and didn’t like how I looked in the video.”

However, she is working through those feelings and trying to be kinder to herself.

“Today I’m reminding myself that I’ve been doing an amazing job,” Bailey said. “I just finished a cool project, and now I’m on vacation with my sister and my baby. We’re having fun.”

She ended her message with a note of self-love and encouragement.

“I’m not going to be too hard on myself. I want to enjoy the moment and let myself live a little,” she said.

Bailey’s message resonates with many mothers. Research indicates that a significant number of people struggle with body image after giving birth. A 2020 study in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth found that over 70% of women feel unhappy with their bodies postpartum. Another study by the New York Post revealed that 95% of women feel insecure about their stomachs, with breasts being the second most common area of concern.

The pressure to "bounce back" after pregnancy is real, but so is the emotional and physical journey behind it.