Cardi B is back in the gym, but she’s not in a rush to “snap back.”
On Sept.12, the “Bodak Yellow” rapper announced the arrival of her third child on Instagram. Shortly after sharing a carousel of photos of her and her family in the hospital, Cardi B shared videos of herself in the gym on her Instagram stories. This post sparked concerns amongst her fanbase, noting how quickly the star went back into working out.
“It’s barely been a week. Yoh, the pressure women in the industry are under? Insane,” one user commented on X, to which Cardi B responded by sharing her outlook on her postpartum journey.
“This is my third baby and postpartum is a little different from my first two… I’m not doing [heavy] lifting, no muscle straining, squatting none of that… just cardio,” she wrote. “Sometimes, to avoid postpartum depression, you gotta keep your mind busy, and for me, that’s work and staying active.”
In addition to clarifying her approach to postpartum, the Grammy-award-winning rapper addressed some of the hate comments she received during her third pregnancy.
“You know what’s funny?? Y’all dragged me down when I gained 15 pounds because I was 5 months pregnant but now y’all fake concerned and wanna talk about pressure??? Y’all said I was pregnant to avoid working now that you see I’m still at it it’s something else,” she continued. “So yeah I’m taking this [personally], but it’s FOR ME because either way y’all are gonna have something to say.”
Expressing no malicious intent, the fan noted that her first message was an indictment of “society’s expectations of women” and “snapback” culture. As previously reported by theGrio, the pressure to “snap back” and get back to the way they used to look and act before having a baby is a challenge many new moms face. And after giving birth to her son Wave, 3, and her daughter Kulture, 6, Cardi B is no stranger to this phenomenon.
“Totally babe!! And I do agree about society and pressure,” she tweeted continuing the conversation with her fan. “I just was never the type to care about snap back after birth. I don’t know what it is about this time around, but I have this burst of energy where I want to do EVERYTHING… It’s like I want to complete all my goals in one day.”