Mom Posts Inspiring Note The Nurses Put Near The Scale At Her Doctor's Office

A note on the scale at the doctor’s office changed her entire day

Being weighed at a doctor’s visit sounds like a simple event, but it definitely has the power to derail some of us. That’s why the note one mom saw posted near the scale at her doctor’s office is hitting home with so many women. Because knowing someone understands the anxiety that can come with being weighed it is a very comforting thing.

New mom Mariah Kaitlyn Herrera shared a photo on Instagram of a sticky note posted near the scale at her doctor’s office. She saw the note at her first visit after having her son, Isaiah.

The note reads, “This scale will only tell you the numerical value of your gravitational pull. It will not tell you how beautiful you are, how much your friends and family love you, or how amazing you are!” It’s signed, “your nurse.”

Herrera posted it with the caption, “This is the second time I’ve seen this in the doctor’s office and I LOVE IT. SERIOUSLY these should come with every scale! Completely changes how I feel about stepping on the scale, especially because I know I’m working on myself.”

Herrera tells Scary Mommy, “I was terrified to go to the doctor’s in the first place because I knew they were going to weigh me, and I hated being weighed even before I was pregnant.” She says, “As I was filling out some paperwork at the doctor’s office, I noticed the bright pink note on the wall. I got up, read it immediately, and my whole day was turned around.”

“I really don’t think the nurse realized what kind of impact she had on me worrying about my weight, which is something I’ve done since before I got pregnant, but it’s been even worse since I had my baby and all during pregnancy. But it’s important to remember that weight doesn’t matter as long as you’re working on yourself,” she shares.

This entire scenario is extremely relatable for many women. I know I have serious scale anxiety and have since high school, and during pregnancy and the postpartum months, it only got worse. I used to beg the nurses at my OB’s office to let me get on the scale backward so I didn’t have to see the number and to not tell me what it was. Why did I care so much? Why do I still care so much?

Her post struck a chord because it’s something tons of us panic about. I know women who have outright avoided necessary doctor’s visits until they’ve reached an arbitrary goal weight, delaying their own healthcare. Because of a stupid number. Herrera’s post is a great reminder that that’s really all it is — a number. A scale reading doesn’t measure your worth and it shouldn’t dictate whether you value yourself or get the appropriate medical care. We’re all worthy and loved, no matter what the scale says.

As for the reaction to her post, Herrera says, “I’ve had so many people reach out to me thanking me for inspiring them, which is funny to me because I’ve never thought myself as an inspirational person. But every time someone asks me about that post or asks me how I feel, I tell them I’m learning to love myself. I honestly think it’s just helping me love myself more.”

Herrera adds, “I think as women we need to lift each other up a little more instead of tearing each other down.”

Amen.