Cardi B gave birth to her third child with estranged (and soon-to-be-ex) husband Offset earlier this month. A baby girl was born on September 9, joining siblings Kulture and Wave, and the rapper described her as “the most beautiful little thing.” Unfortunately, Cardi already feels the need to defend her decisions postpartum, because as we’ve learned time and time again, when it comes to what women choose to do with their bodies, the only way to win is to not play.
A little over a week postpartum, Cardi posted an Instagram story of herself next to a stair climber Behind the love co-host podcast Chi Fontenette. “Phew!” she said as she climbed slowly. “We’re not playing with you.” The update was posted to Twitter and retweeted by @BassieLastrassi with a comment. “It’s not even been a week. Yo, the pressure on women in the workplace? Crazy.
As of press time, the tweet has received more than 60,000 likes, but the most popular response was a retweet from Ms. Belcalis “Cardi B” Almánzar herself.
“This is my third baby, and postpartum is a little different than my first two,” she began. “I’m not lifting weights, straining muscles, or squatting… just doing cardio. Sometimes to avoid the postpartum blues, you have to keep your brain busy, and for me it’s about working and staying Be active…but you know what’s funny? When I gained 15 pounds, you all weighed me down because I was 5 months pregnant, but now you’re pretending to be worried and want to talk about the stress of being pregnant? It was to avoid working and now you guys see I’m still working, is that something else? So, yeah, I take it personally, but it’s for me because either way, you guys are going to Something to say.
@BassieLastrassi was quick to clarify, “This tweet was never an indictment of you, but society’s expectations of women and ‘quick comeback’ culture.” Which, yesbut also Imagine how exhausting it must be to be a new mother, and within a week of giving birth, thousands of people are questioning the choices you made with your body.
Cardi was generous when she responded to @BassieLastrassi retweeting her clarification:
“Totally baby!! I do agree with society and the pressure…I’ve just never been the type to care about recovery after birth. I don’t know what happened this time but I had a burst of energy and I wanted to do it all Things…like I want to accomplish all my goals in one day.
Every birth is different, and every birth is different. Sometimes someone is lucky and the energy is just There So why not take advantage of it? In particular, doctors from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the National Centers for Health Services agree that after a normal vaginal delivery, you can start gentle exercise again whenever you’re ready.
So, keep climbing the stairs, Cardi, and congratulations on your baby!
