Like all expectant moms, Ellen Pompeo got bigger while pregnant with her first child, daughter Stella, born last September. But not that much bigger, she says in the April issue of Self magazine.
"I went up a pants size during my pregnancy," Pompeo, 40, says. "I was in size 25 jeans and went to 26. I gained 26 pounds." (Stella's dad is Pompeo's music producer husband Chris Ivery.)
The Grey's Anatomy actress adds that she adores her fuller post-pregnancy shape. "I weigh 10 pounds more than I ever have. I love it."
The super-svelte star admits that "everyone always told me I was too skinny before, and I thought, Oh, God, what if there are 14-year-olds who think I'm not eating, and then they don't eat? Do I have a responsibility?"
"Really," Pompeo retorts, "I don't care if people think I'm too skinny. This is my body. If they don't like it, screw it. [My weight] doesn't matter to me. I have a healthy baby."
The actress also suggests she got flack for taking a mere four weeks off before returning to the Grey's set. "A lot of people couldn't understand why I wouldn't take my maternity leave," she says. "I make a good living, but I won't always make this kind of money. I felt I needed to work while I had this opportunity."
