The most honest photos of women after childbirth

The body of a woman after pregnancy and childbirth changes dramatically. A few are lucky, and they come to the "pre-pregnant" form quickly and painlessly. The rest are doomed to a long and painful struggle with excess weight, stretch marks and sagging breast after feeding. Or in other words: self-acceptance and happy motherhood without problems. It's not about allowing yourself to spread out on the sofa and put a fat cross on the figure. It's about not feeling impotent hatred for your body, stop being shy or feeling remorse for something that is caused by nature itself.

Yes, after giving birth, we all change outwardly. And yes, few people can be indifferent to this. But absolutely all women go through this, even stars and celebrities. Someone uploads ideal pictures to the network, on which the masters of Photoshop worked. Such photos collect millions of likes and generate thousands of "quiet" psychological problems. Women begin to acutely experience the shortcomings of their figure, hate their flabby belly, flat chest or wide hips with stretch marks and cellulite. And this is one of the steps to rejection of yourself in general and

Fortunately, the situation has changed recently. Today, women are increasingly being told about the importance of loving their body and calmly accepting all its shortcomings. The trend for body positive was picked up by foreign and Ukrainian celebrities: the recently honored artist Anastasia Prikhodko unashamedly put her fresh photo after the birth of a son. “I am not ashamed of my belly, which is saggy and looks like a grater. […] And every woman should be proud of every cell of her body, which helped to endure and give birth to a new person, ”the singer signed the photo.

Another celebrity, the popular Texas artist Cassie Arnold, creates unique art objects on this theme. Woman knits crop tops that imitate female breasts after childbirth, breastfeeding or surgery. Not perfect, flabby, often saggy and not at all sexy. In this original way, the artist wants to draw attention to a problem that worries many women. This is rejection of your body and "resentment" towards it for the fact that it is full of shortcomings. True, it is still impossible to buy such tops, because Cassie does not create them for sale. These are exhibits for international exhibitions dedicated to women and her beauty in any form.

Not so long ago, another unique project appeared on Instagram: Take Back Postpartum (@takebackpostpartum). It is designed to help all young mothers accept themselves and change their figure after pregnancy and childbirth. Its author is January Harshe, a mother of six and a popular blogger. She came up with the idea to create a page of real life on the social network, without retouching and embellishment. Women from all over the world send her their honest and candid pictures related to motherhood. These are not pictures with bows "licked" in Photoshop, but real illustrations of the problems of every mother. These photos, along with the stories of subscribers, Harsh publishes on the network, as if reminding: there is nothing perfect in the world except love for your child.

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

“5 weeks postpartum! No drama, lady. Just stretch marks, 5-finger diastasis and a heart full of love. After 5 weeks, I still look like I am 4 months pregnant and I still have not bounced back from an emergency caesarean section. But I am eating well and will soon be able to start exercising as soon as I get the go-ahead from my therapist. Women are amazing and each one recovers differently from their unique birthing experience. The most important thing is that pretty face that we can call our own. "

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

“Why be ashamed? Life grew inside you, giving humanity hope for change. You felt what I, as a man, will never understand. Your body has changed, and so have you. It became a glimpse into the past of what you had to go through. You have grown mentally and emotionally, and your soul has been in places that you did not even know about before. Your breasts may look different. Your buttocks may not be as firm as they used to be. But that is as it should be when you gave so much of yourself to help all of us. A kind of sacrifice, if I may say so. But for me, your body is now exactly what it should be. So don't be ashamed. Don't hide your changes from the world you and your sisters helped create. Be proud of your story. Be proud of your destiny. Be proud of who you are chosen to be. "

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

“When you fit into your jeans again, but you can't stop thinking about 'my body will never be the same.' When your breasts no longer feel the gentle embrace of tiny arms, and all you see are stretch marks and "empty bags" that were once full. When a plastic surgeon finds you using the hashtag #young_mom and follows you on Instagram immediately after you posted a beautiful photo with a newborn baby in the hospital, and you regularly flip through his feed and see the photo "before" and "after".

“I want to reject all doubts and seeds of self-hatred in you. Let me remind you that every movie, TV show, magazine and women's product you see on the shelves is a carefully thought-out message. This is a message whose sole purpose is to make you feel imperfect in some way. It is designed to maximize profits from your insecurities and mental and emotional health. Was your body a sacred vessel for another soul or maybe you've never been pregnant. Whether you are a woman, man, transgender or anyone else. Dare to tell yourself that you are good enough. Don't let the CONTINUOUS messages rob you of your love for yourself. "

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

“This is the postpartum period. My dialogue with myself asserts that this is probably my worst photo. I see a double chin, a belly that looks like it's still a baby, stretch marks, cellulite and a lot of excess weight. But I put this self-deprecating conversation aside, and this photo taken by my adoring husband seriously makes me feel real. I've never felt like a stronger warrior princess mom than in those first few postpartum minutes and hours (yes, even with a giant adult diaper). Raising and giving birth to a tiny person is an absolutely wonderful act. And I can hardly believe what a strong and amazing body I have. "

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

“They say: get your body back in shape after the baby is born. And I didn’t know that my body had ever left the form. Anyway, every pregnancy brings me closer to my body. Of course, I have extra pounds. But this is the beauty of the body after childbirth. Weight may fluctuate or reach some kind of stable plateau. You can "look back" or discover a new version of your body. I am focused on being healthy, and not because I want to "get my body back." I would not want to part with the stretch marks and the softness that my body acquired during pregnancy. You can get healthy to embrace your new body instead of worrying about what was before. It seems to me that we just become more beautiful after we have carried life in ourselves. "

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

"So. The child is upside down. This is just an attempt to unblock the milk duct. The postpartum period looks like this. You're tired as hell. Your chest is constantly leaking. Blocked milk ducts. Hemorrhoids. Tears (quite a few). You are constantly covered with traces of childish surprise. You pretend to listen to your older kids, but you don't understand what the hell they are saying. Eat and drink more than when you were pregnant. As you can see, this is super glamorous and I would never change all of that. What do we need to "bounce back"? Our bodies carried a man in themselves for 40 weeks and gave birth to a new creature. The last thing we have to worry about is losing weight, or going back to normal, or trying to be a hero and do it all. I learned my lesson from the first two, and now I'm calm. Thanks to my amazing body for such a great job. Don't expect too much of yourself and remember that this too will pass. "

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

(photo of the project Take Back Postpartum)

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