Mum-of-six (and all ’round superwoman!) Jana Pittman has shared an honest account of her body image journey, saying she’s the ‘heaviest’ she’s ever been, but ‘grateful’ for her body.

The Olympian, doctor and SAS Australia contestant says she wanted to share photos of her body because they ‘speak volumes’.

She posted a series of images wearing just a bra and underwear, with a long caption explaining why she wanted to share the photos.

“This body used to be ripped and lean, racing for Aus. against the worlds best,” Jana wrote.

“Fast forward 16 years, 6 kids later and this is where I am at. Yes this is the heaviest I have ever been, yes my body wears the beautiful scars of motherhood, especially the stretched skin from the twins at 39yrs old but I am also heavy due to being so time poor!”

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Jana also spoke about the image social media portrays, and how it often differs from what’s actually happening. “Many of my posts show this tough and crazy woman managing so many different facets of life but the reality is I have had to make choices with my time and there has been very little left for me. The last 12 months have been an emotional and stressful journey on several fronts which resulted in comfort eating here and there… so I am now the same weight as when I was heavily pregnant! “Regardless, this is me right now and while I am not exactly comfortable, I am so grateful for this body. It has bravely taken me through so much and even though I don’t always honour it, it honours me. “Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Love the skin you are in.”

Jana Pittman’s Incredible Birth Story: ‘I Felt Empowered’

 

The amazing mum gave birth to twins Quinlan and Willow in March last year, five weeks early, just hours after a nasty fall down a set of stairs.

 

She detailed her ‘most magical’ birth, revealing delivering her twins was ‘empowering and incredible’.

While the early birth of the twins wasn’t expected, Jana says she had prepared for their arrival by exploring empowering birth practices. “I was walking up the stairs with my son, Charlie, when he fell backwards,” Jana told New Idea. “I went to catch him and, in the process, fell backwards myself, down seven or eight steps.” The fall resulted in a knock to the head, but the sporting champion tried to remain calm, and appeared at a speaking engagement later that same day.“But I could feel the contractions starting during the talk, so I took myself straight off to hospital after!” She says after birthing six babies, the twins’ delivery was the ‘most magical’. “I started exploring empowering birth practices after feeling out of control in my first two labours.. literally climbing the walls, vomiting and lots of tears,” Jana explained on Instagram. “I was determined to feel more in sync with my body and work with my baby. Don’t get me wrong as I transition at 10cm I still get super emotional, cry, try to leave the room and often seem quite delirious but I recognise that now as the final moments before the big event! What a difference.” Jana said her obstetrician, Dr Bassem Gerges, supported her desire for a vaginal twin birth. “We discussed the risks at length. The main concerns were: it was a twin pregnancy and I was a grand-multiparous woman (haha means lots of previous births) but while that’s good for proven pelvic anatomy etc it can lead to a bigger atonic (floppy) uterus, especially since it was now stretched to house two small humans! “This meant increased risk of bleeding and more importantly after twin 1 (Quinlan) birthed, twin 2 (Willow) might move into a difficult position and get stuck. She had also been breech now for a few weeks. So we prepared for the possibility of a difficult time with the second twin which might require a caesarean or internal maneuverers to help her out safely.” The incredible mum says although she wanted a ‘really natural’ birth experience, she was encouraged to have an epidural in case an emergency c-section was needed. And it turned out to be a very wise move! “Dr Stewart my anaesthetist and Dr Gerges found a compromise and we agreed to a relatively dry epidural, meaning he used only a small dose to ensure it’s in the correct place but let it wear off so I could feel my labour and continue with my hypnobirthing. It was then topped up as Quinlan was crowning in preparation for Willow being tricky! “Quinlan entered the world with a few good pushes and a big cry hello but as predicted my little Willow went from breech to transverse (side lying), they tried to rotate her externally but she was stubborn so Dr Bas calmly did an internal podalic version (reached all the way inside and grabbed her little feet) and brought her out breech. Ok now I understood the epidural request. Only 11 minutes later she was in my arms too – what a team!! “And ladies… no tearing or stitches (wow). So yes my birth was a little more medicalised but it was incredible and I felt empowered and safe throughout the whole process!” Jana shared also intimate birth photos to her Instagram.

The busy mum says the twins’ early arrival took her by surprise. “At first, I was in shock because I wasn’t prepared for an early childbirth. I had a few tears in the special care unit. It’s a different experience when they’re ‘premmie’. I’m usually the mum that gives birth at midday and is home by 5pm with the baby. With these two, I only got to hold them for an hour before they were taken off me.” She spent a week in hospital with her newborns, before the trio were released from hospital.

Jana Pittman Reveals Postpartum Condition

Jana has also recently revealed she’s suffering from a common postpartum condition after giving birth. She uploaded a video of her belly, revealing she has diastasis recti.

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“Aka post baby abdominal wall separation!” She explained. “An issue that happens to many of us especially those with big babies or multiple pregnancies but often is a bit of a shock. “Physio and core work can make a huge difference to ‘recti-fying’ this issue. Find yourself a good physio and give yourself time to rebuild that beautiful postpartum body of yours. The human body will never cease to amaze me!”

What is diastasis recti?

As Jana explained, the condition is also know as abdominal separation, and it happens when the stomach muscles weaken and separate during pregnancy. Jana demonstrates this perfectly in her video! It’s pretty common and usually gets better about eight weeks after giving birth.

So why does it happen? According to Health Direct the abdominal separation happens when the expanding uterus causes the two long, parallel muscles of the stomach to separate from each other. It’s a combination of a growing baby, and the hormonal changes during pregnancy. It’s more common if you’ve already had one baby, if you’re over 35 or if you’ve having multiples, like Jana did.

Jana Pittman’s Twin Pregnancy

Jana has candidly shared her twin pregnancy over the past few months, even revealing the graphic toll it took on her body. The fit mum said she wanted to keep it real throughout her pregnancy and share the ups and downs with her more than 40,000 Instagram followers.

“You guys all know I am pretty open about my body after all I wet myself on national TV, as it was important women talked about postpartum issues and seek help! So I plan to share the realness of carrying twins at 39yrs too!” Along with a photo of her growing belly, Jana shared images of her leg, which is mapped with varicose veins.

“I am 18wks this week and well so far it’s been a mix of amazing and rough as guts. The vomiting and fatigue was yuck but feeling much better now … and I guess with my job I see women having it much much much worse.. including having the privilege of working with couples who have late stage miscarriages or infertility. So I realise I am simply blessed.

“But scroll through for the reality on my poor leg (only one.. so weird)! Varicose veins in pregnancy are real and UGLY!! I have to wear an ultra sexy (not) pelvic girdle (lucky I am pregnant already) and the vulval/leg ache is next level! But … It’s worth it!” Jana also went on to answer questions from her followers, who called her ‘inspiring’ and ‘brave’.

“Thanks everyone for your lovely well wishes. Yep it’s uncomfortable and because it’s only one leg def get a few people looking at at and asking if I am ok. Have had them each pregnancy and they get slightly worse each time so I guess it makes sense since I am on pregnancy number 5.”

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When Jana revealed her pregnancy in October last year, she admitted she never thought she’d have six children, and isn’t sure how she’s going to cope with her growing family. “How will we all fit into my car? I can see life is going to be a logistical nightmare,” Jana told New Idea. The 39-year-old, who is 18 weeks pregnant, says she had some early pregnancy symptoms that made her think she might be having twins. “Early on, I used to wonder: ‘Why am I so nauseous?’ None of my other babies made me feel sick. I pondered if I had twins on board.”

One big, happy family

 

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A post shared by Jana Pittman (@janapittmanofficial)

Jana, a junior doctor, says like most mums she tried to hide her pregnancy early on, but it became pretty obvious when she threw up at work.

“I was in surgery, trying hard to concentrate. Just as we closed up the patient, who was in for a caesarean, I walked away from the table and threw up. It went all over my mask, up into my goggles and peppered my face shield, to the point that I couldn’t see, and a nurse had to lead me away from the table. It was then that I admitted to my boss that I was pregnant.”

She says working as a doctor means she’s able to keep a close eye on her twins with regular ultrasounds. “I can’t help walking past and checking in on my babies. I have ‘quick looks’ all of the time. At six weeks, I saw one baby and an anomaly, which got me worried. Then at seven weeks, the anomaly became clearer and I saw it was the second baby. I was so relieved, then happy, then a bit shocked.”

Jana said the twins complete her beautiful brood of children with her husband, Paul Gatward’s, 53, which include Charlie, 11 months, daughters Emily, 6, and Jemima, (conceived through anonymous sperm donation when Jana was a single mum) and 15-year-old Cornelis, who Jana shared with her former coach and husband, Chris Rawlinson.

“Paul never thought he’d have children, so he’s ecstatic. And I’m stoked because I love the idea of having a beautiful, big family for the rest of my life. I’m going to have a very full life and that gives me a lot of peace and pleasure.”

The busy mum says she’s under no illusions about just how difficult the next few years will be, and has already ruled out any more kids. “My desire to fall pregnant again has gone. The flame is out. I’m going to immerse myself in the joy of this last pregnancy and enjoy the feeling of having twins grow inside of me.”

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