Beyoncé on How She Learned to Love Her Body After Giving Birth

Beyoncé may be a #goddess, but she's also a real woman who deals with real issues—like experiencing complications while giving birth and learning to embrace her body afterwards. In a new interview, Beyoncé opens up about the emergency C-section she had while giving birth to twins, Rumi and Sir Carter, and how she learned to accept her body and practice self-love.

"After the birth of my first child, I believed in the things society said about how my body should look. I put pressure on myself to lose all the baby weight in three months, and scheduled a small tour to assure I would do it. Looking back, that was crazy. I was still breastfeeding when I performed the Revel shows in Atlantic City in 2012. After the twins, I approached things very differently."

"I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth to Rumi and Sir. I was swollen from toxemia and had been on bed rest for over a month. My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU. My husband was a soldier and such a strong support system for me. I am proud to have been a witness to his strength and evolution as a man, a best friend, and a father. I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later."

She continues, "Today I have a connection to any parent who has been through such an experience. After the C-section, my core felt different. It had been major surgery. Some of your organs are shifted temporarily, and in rare cases, removed temporarily during delivery. I am not sure everyone understands that. I needed time to heal, to recover. During my recovery, I gave myself self-love and self-care, and I embraced being curvier. I accepted what my body wanted to be. After six months, I started preparing for Coachella. I became vegan temporarily, gave up coffee, alcohol, and all fruit drinks. But I was patient with myself and enjoyed my fuller curves. My kids and husband did, too."

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Beyoncé gave birth to her and Jay-Z's first daughter, Blue Ivy, in 2012 and welcomed twins Rumi and Sir in June 2017. The couple have kept the twins out of the spotlight since their birth, but Beyoncé recently shared the first candid photo of them in honor of their first birthday.

You can read Beyoncé's full interview here.

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