(PS7-42) Exploring Diverse Representation of Postpartum Bodies on Social Media

The postpartum is a critical health period for birthing individuals. This time is of even more salience for Black mothers, who experience additional risk during this period due to myriad factors. Individuals are increasingly turning to TikTok as a source of health information. This may especially be true for those that encounter barriers to healthcare access. Postpartum individuals may seek information related to body image and eating behaviors, as they are at increased risk for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. It has also been well-established that visual forms of social media impact body image and eating behaviors; despite this, no study has explored the content of TikTok posts related to body image in the postpartum. The present study involved a content analysis of TikTok videos tagged #PostpartumBody, with the aim to explore whether these videos include diverse racial and size representation with regard to postpartum body image content.

The lead author developed a codebook for the project based on previous body image content analyses and trained two research assistants to serve as coders. After achieving high interrater reliability, 300 of the most popular videos using #PostpartumBody were extracted from TikTok and divided among coders. Videos were coded for participant demographics as well as positive and negative appearance-related themes.

Of the final set of videos (N = 286), the subjects in the videos were observed to be predominantly White (57.7%) with BMIs in the “normal” range (76.2%). Only 14.7% of video subjects were coded as Black. The proportion of videos with body positive themes (e.g., body appreciation and acceptance) did not significantly differ between Black and White women, X² (1, N = 207) = 0.01, p > .05.

Results demonstrate a lack of racial diversity in TikTok videos using the hashtag #PostpartumBody; however, of those videos that did include Black women, a similar proportion of content was positive in nature. Results increase our understanding of postpartum information found on TikTok. The body positivity movement has been criticized for a lack of diversity, which was also observed in this sample of videos. Limited size diversity could prompt upward comparisons and increase body dissatisfaction. Lack of racial diversity may increase a sense of isolation during the postpartum period. Conversely, it is also possible that there is less pressure to “bounce back” among Black women on TikTok, leading to less posting under #PostpartumBody. Clinicians should understand what their clients are being exposed to online to inform conceptualization and treatment efforts to address media literacy and distorted thinking. Future research is needed to examine the causal effects of viewing this content.