Kate Beckinsale can’t see why anyone thinks their body ought to go back to its exact pre-baby shape after nine months of pregnancy.

The 38-year-old actress, who is mother to 13-year-old daughter Lily with ex-partner Martin Sheen, explained:

‘There’s an obsessional hatred of normal human processes. Pregnancy changes a woman’s body and it should. It isn’t normal to not look like you’ve had a baby immediately after you’ve had a baby.”

Speaking from her own experience, Kate Beckinsale continued, “I was gigantic after I had Lily – I put on a good 3 ½ stone, and it didn’t go ‘til I stopped breast feeding… I was lucky that Britain wasn’t so paparazzi-orientated [then]. I was allowed to get on with it and enjoy my baby – and figure out what being a mother was all about instead of worrying about [fitting into] my f***ing jeans.”

photo: Kate Beckinsale covers Glamour UK