These days, it’s almost impossible not to see pictures of babies when browsing through social media sites, especially as our circle of friends starts to get older. While baby snaps make us go «aww! » and are easy on the eye, there’s barely any attention given to the effects giving birth has on a woman’s body.
That’s why the following women wanted to show the price their bodies paid for bringing life into the world…
"This is 7 days postpartum. I'm rocking out in the mesh undies from the hospital {They are the best, send me all the mesh undies please}. My body has done a beautiful thing. It has carried a 5th child into this world. My uterus and stomach might not ever be "the same." Nor should it be after the journeys it's been through, the stories it can tell. A gift denied to many women. For every woman complaining of stretch marks, or a newer heavier body, there is a woman out there who would trade places in a heart beat to be able to carry and raise a child. I have been the complainer before, the downer of my body. Loving my postpartum body is not something I did easily. It took years of life, loss, appreciation, understanding, stories from other women… Other women played a HUGE role in my self love of my different body. It's amazing the gift of the lady village and the openness and rawness of those who have gone before us or are going with us, and the change it can make on the way we see ourselves when we share openly. My baby is only 7 days old. My body is supposed to look exactly like this. However my body also might not ever go back. Nor should it have to. I just want to be healthy and strong for my children. Eat healthy to have energy to be present in their lives, be the teacher and guardian they each uniquely need, loving them unconditionally every step of the way. Having a larger stomach won't make me any less of a mother or any less deserving of self love and body appreciation. Rock out with your mesh undies out and self love the crap out of the gifts your body has allowed you to experience. And give yourself grace. Self love is a daily practice. We have to work hard to change our inner voice. Don't you give up. It takes time for it all to come together. Just keep swimming. If baby Quinn decides one day to grow up and have children of her own, I cannot wait to celebrate her beautiful, ever changing body with her." ?❤️ @tiffanyburkephotography #takebackpostpartum
A post shared by @takebackpostpartum on Apr 26, 2017 at 6:05pm PDT
"I still don’t think I have really come to terms with my new body, while it’s easy to adopt the attitude ‘out of sight, out of mind’ – they are definitely not out of mind. It’s selfish I know, others are having issues falling pregnant and I’m moaning about my stretch marks, marks which without, I wouldn’t have my kids. I am truly grateful for my children. My stretch marks are bad. They look like I’ve been attacked by a wild animal (maybe that’d be a better story to roll with). They’re deep and almost look like burns. I know they will fade over time but I think with the extent of them, it’s likely they’ll always be quite prominent. The tattoo is ruined, but I am not bothered as I hated it anyway. I heard a quote the other day, “For every woman who hates her stretch marks there is a woman wishing she had them”. It really got me thinking. Thinking about the new body I have. I am thankful everyday, don’t get me wrong. The stretch marks a part of me now, a part I am yet to fully accept. Whilst I am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight, my body is most certainly not the same but I am OK with that. Am I really? Yes and no. I wish I didn’t have my stretch marks but they also tell a story and I now have two beautiful children to show for it. It’s funny because I weigh the same but I am different size and body shape now, my boobs went from a C to a DD and I am not even breastfeeding anymore. I don’t fit any of my old clothes and I can’t stand anything that is tight fitting, although I never did, to be honest. 3 months on from baby #2 and I don’t think I can say I ‘love’ my body but I am coming to terms with the fact that this is my body now. Not everybody gets stretch marks, yay you. I did, and it’s really not the end of the world. It’s my body, there is fuck all I can do to change it so I just have to deal with it and learn to accept it. So here I am, baring it all to you. If anybody else is in the same boat you’ll now you are not alone. It’s tough, I won’t lie. I feel sad when I see people bounce back from their pregnancies. I don’t wish for a perfect body, I just wish I could be comfortable and confident in myself. It will come with time I am sure." @jessbovey
A post shared by @takebackpostpartum on Jul 17, 2017 at 2:31pm PDT
✨this is beauty✨ ••• A Saturday morning with my babies, relaxing under the warmth of the sun shining into the living room, and the windows open. There's no sound here except for the birds chirping outside, the crunching of pretzels that my toddler is eating, and the little grunts of my baby as she's loving on her first home. The beauty is that I'm with my beautiful children and I don't have to get dressed or be put together to be loved by them. I don't have to have the perfect body. I am who I am, stretch marks and all, with a little fluff, and some squish…and they love me anyway. The beauty is that, I'm finally at a place in my life where I don't feel like I need to be perfect to please anyone. That I can enjoy and love the skin I am in. And even though I workout a lot and try to take care of my body, that doesn't change the fact that I am still comfortable in my skin at any stage. This body did miraculous things and still is — growing, birthing, and nurturing my children. Man, I love being a wife and a mother…and being a WOMAN. @lifewithabbyd #takebackpostpartum .
A post shared by @takebackpostpartum on Feb 27, 2017 at 12:50pm PST
"OK. I'm just going to say it. Postpartum body shaming seems to happen no matter what size you end up being after birth. I got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight four months after I had Charlie. I owe that to genetics 100%. That being said, you would not believe the amount of times I hear 'wow, you look so skinny.' Or 'geez, you've already lost ALL that weight?' Or the really snide remarks about 'well that won't happen with your second.' Or the straight up dirty looks I get from other new moms when they hear how old my baby is. FYI- I do still deal with all those crappy PP issues like my belly button popping out when I eat too much, diastasis recti, getting bald spots from PP hair loss and my personal favorite: postpartum depression. _ But truly, my struggle isn't external, it's internal. My heart still hurts so badly about the way I feel my body betrayed me during birth. It's something that I struggle with constantly when I think about having another baby. To be honest, I'm really terrified to labor again. Always wondering if my body will do what its supposed to next time. I was having a conversation with a Doula friend the other day about how to proceed in life after a traumatic labor and let me just tell you, it's hard. Really hard. And every time anyone mentions the way my body looks, I want to tell them how much my heart sometimes hurts. Please just know that every woman struggles in different ways and every woman's relationship with her birth is different. _ I may have gotten my 'body back', but my spirit has taken a little longer. _ So, here is my 10 month {postpartum} body. I don't care if you think I'm skinny or fat or too soft or too lumpy. And I don't care what your {postpartum} body looks like. I don't care if you're striped, swollen, thick, thin, still dealing with extra weight or have already worked your ass off to get back all of your muscle. I care that we remember -truly- that it's what's on the inside that counts. That has been my journey and it's getting better every day. _ All I wish for any postpartum woman is peace, calm and self acceptance." @jessicasheridan #takebackpostpartum
A post shared by @takebackpostpartum on Jun 7, 2017 at 8:58am PDT
"I was 19 years old & on the Mediterranean Sea, spending the summer in Spain for a study abroad. Well before children, well before my metabolism decided to slow down, I was a deeply tanned size 4 American girl in a foreign place. And I was so vain. Vain to the point where it was no fun. Of course, I thought I was having fun at the time. But when you're so obsessed with the way you look, doing your hair, hours of shopping for the right bathing suit, & spending all your time on the beach posing for pictures to put on Facebook instead of actually drinking in the once in a life time surroundings…. it isn't until years later when you're older & wiser you realize the fun you missed for being so self and inward focused. • Ten years later, I'm 29. Three children & a different body. A bigger, stretched out body. I wanted to take my children to the beach on Lake Michigan. I needed a swim suit. I did what my college self would have seen as inconceivable. • I walked into Target, looked through the suits, pulled out one that fit my size number, & bought it. Just like that. Didn't even try it on first. Because at 29, the way I looked in my swimsuit didn't matter nearly as much to me. • What mattered to me was enjoying the day, experiencing Mother Earth laughing her waves upon my feet, seeing my children dance upon the sand & hearing my little boy call the water his "best friend." The photos I took were to remember the memories, not the way my body looked. The photos weren't even necessary though; it was a day I'll never forget. • Mothers, live your life to the fullest & live it outwardly, not inwardly. You are BEAUTIFUL as you are. Your body is not who you are. It is simply a vehicle, a vessel, to carry your true self through this life as you experience all the wonders that this life is. You wouldn't skip going on a road trip because you don't own your dream car, would you? No! And on the flip side, if you did own your dream car, what would be the point of it if you didn't use it as a tool for experiencing the fullness of life? Embrace the sacred vessel that is your body but don't let its appearance consume your ability to live & love your life. @coppermoonmama
A post shared by @takebackpostpartum on Jun 14, 2017 at 7:42am PDT
The message is clear — there’s no reason to be ashamed of the changes that a woman’s body experiences during pregnancy and after giving birth. We’re all human and it’s natural to look like this. Hat’s off to these brave moms!
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