5 years ago

Fashion designer explains her 'tiny baby bump' is due to endometriosis

Popular fashion designer Yiota Kouzoukas has spoken out on social media about her pregnancy.

After receiving hundreds of messages asking her why her bump was so small and if she was doing "some crazy diet" while pregnant, the brand owner of Sabo Skirt decided to defend herself by explaining exactly why her bump is smaller than "usual".

A post shared by Yiota Kouzoukas (@yiota) on Oct 22, 2017 at 3:41pm PDT

She described that her past endometriosis surgeries - along with the tilt of her uterus and her naturally slender physique - made her pregnancy somewhat unnoticeable.

She decided to dedicate a post on Instagram to discussing her bump size. She 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 continued...

"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."

*BUMP SIZE* I receive a lot of DMs and comments regarding the size of my bump, which is why I want 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. 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. 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 ❤️

A post shared by Yiota Kouzoukas (@yiota) on Oct 9, 2017 at 2:53am PDT

The Australian brand owner is now nine months pregnant and awaiting the arrival of her first child.

Omg #9monthspregnant today!! I’m so nervous eeek and going to miss the constant squirming in my belly so much ❤️ even the hard rib kicks ? 36 weeks and counting ?

A post shared by Yiota Kouzoukas (@yiota) on Dec 23, 2017 at 6:02pm PST