During pregnancy, a woman’s body goes through a fascinating transformation that results in the birth of a baby. After giving birth, she begins a stage of recovery and healing for that same body, in which all those changes have left some visible mark on it.
And while the body eventually recovers, the truth is that it is never the same again, but it is no less beautiful for that. Here are nine beautiful photos of mothers who pay tribute to their postpartum bodies.
“Be nice to myself”
Hayley Garnett, a mother who, in addition to sharing her motherhood through her Instagram account, also frequently reminds us to be kind to our postpartum bodies. In her posts, she always tries to dedicate kind words to him, and some time ago, she started a movement on Instagram that celebrated postpartum and invited mothers to admire their bodies.
“My husband and kids don’t care if I don’t have a flat stomach”
In addition to showing a realistic image of what the postpartum body looks like, Katie Flores shows us through this Instagram post that we must be patient and understand that it takes time to recover after childbirth. Also, she reminds us of something very important: the people who love us will care more because we are happy than because we have perfect bodies.
“Fashion diapers for two”
With a bit of humor, Bri Dietz shares an unglamorous body image during the fourth trimester, when the baby is already born and we find ourselves adjusting to this new time with him by our side. A tender but at the same time funny image, which shows us the transformation that she has just experienced.
“Those lines on your stomach are poetry”
“…A mum who waited months, upon months to receive that first pregnancy test.
A mum who felt the dancing and movement of life from inside her womb.
A mum who couldn’t get away from the bathroom for 9 whole months of pregnancy because of morning sickness.
A mum who grew, nourished and birthed her baby into the world like it was nothing…
A mum who has taken years to fully accept her body and it’s appearance.
A mum who has finally embraced her stretch marks for what they are + symbolize…”
A beautiful message from Kiera Mary, which reminds us that those stretch marks are a mark of the incredible work our bodies did when we gestated a baby.
“Thank you for being patient while I learned to love you”
For Brenda, who shares this powerful photo on her Instagram account, it wasn’t easy to love her postpartum body, but over time and after the birth of her five children, she understood how powerful it was and how strong she could be.
“Thank you body, we wake up one more day”
With this emotional message and a photograph of herself at home with her baby, Megan Rose Lane reminds us that sometimes the process of loving the body after childbirth is not easy or constant, but little by little we can learn to be at peace with it.
“I will always see the beauty in them”
“One mark for every breath you took, every blink, every sleepy yawn.
One for every time you sucked your thumb, waved hello, closed your eyes, and slept in the most perfect darkness.
One for every time you had hiccups.
One for each dream you dreamed with me.
I used to think they weren’t pretty.
Many still think they are ugly.
And that’s okay.
It was your home, your safe haven.
It held you until my arms could.
And for that, I will forever see the beauty in them.”
A beautiful message from Kiera Mary, in which she explains to us, detail by detail, why she sees each stretch mark on her body with love and appreciation.
“I hope you can enjoy the miracle of your changing body”
The body changes, transforms, and adapts in order to become a mother. In a truly wonderful and unique process, it shows us what it’s made of, and as we can see in this composition by Brenda, our postpartum body blossoms.
“Your body is amazing, mom”
Finally, we close our list with this beautiful shot of Stephanie Peeni, in which she not only shows us a beautiful image of her postpartum body, but also of her baby hugging him, the place that gave birth to him and gave him life.
With these beautiful photos of moms paying tribute to postpartum bodies, we remind ourselves to not only be kinder to them, but also take a moment to admire the incredible work they’ve done and the wonderful transformation they’ve undergone.