'Changed so much more': Steph Claire Smith's candid message about body image during second pregnancy

Model, influencer and businesswoman Steph Claire Smith is a big advocate for listening to our bodies and treating them with kindness through the many changes they experience.

She even started a fitness and wellness brand with her best friend and co-founder Laura Henshaw that encourages celebrating our bodies rather than punishing them.

But Smith is only human and says she has found herself experiencing some poor body image recently as she navigates her second pregnancy.

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"I caught myself thinking negatively about my body today and I wanted to talk about it," Smith posted on Instagram.

She began explaining that while she spends most of her time amazed by what her pregnant body is capable of, there are moments where that is drowned out by negative thoughts about it.

"Most days I'm more focused on the miracle of pregnancy and fascinated by the woman's body then I am focused on what I look like… but it doesn't mean negative body image doesn't creep on in from time to time," she wrote.

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Smith's first pregnancy took place during the COVID-19 lockdowns which meant she had plenty of time to prioritise moving her body. This time around she is much busier making it harder to block out time for movement.

"To compare my routine now – where I'm juggling life with a toddler, lack of sleep, I'm older + work and life in general – is just silly… But comparison barely actually considers reality," she wrote.

Despite the very different circumstances, Smith has found herself caught in the comparison trap and feeling negatively about the changes she is seeing in her body this time around.

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After seeing a recent video of herself from behind, Smith recalls telling her husband Josh, "Gosh I'm so much wider, hey, I feel like my body's changed so much more".

She then said, "I wonder if it will stay like this" and found herself hoping it wouldn't.

Smith says her husband responded by telling her that if her body does stay this way it is absolutely OK.

It was in this moment that Smith caught on to the negative thoughts she was having about herself and made a conscious decision to change her mindset.

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"That's when I caught myself and flipped my internal dialog to say 'of course it's okay. It's more than okay'," she wrote.

"Change is inevitable during different life phases, particularly pregnancy. I wanted to share today's thought process to show you that finding body acceptance is a journey not a destination."

Smith has been open about her past struggles with body image disordered eating and while she's come along way since then, she still has moments where the negative thoughts come back.

"For the most part I am someone who has mended their relationship with food and exercise and their body – but it doesn't mean I don't have insecurities creeping on in. I'm just quicker at recognising them and focusing on what really matters."

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