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90 Brutally Honest Photos Of Post-Baby Bodies, That Women Are Sharing To Reveal The Truth No One Talks About
When a celebrity appears in the media soon after she's had a new baby, you'll probably hear quite a few questions about what she's doing to "bounce back." But the answers about their body transformations might not be 100% honest. That's when the Instagram account called @takebackpostpartum steps in. It spreads body positivity, encouraging new moms to embrace their postpartum stretch marks and other pregnancy battle scars.
January Harshe is the woman behind the postpartum body project. "I said, ladies, if you want to make a change, we have to do it ourselves," the mother of six told TODAY. "There was a big response. Women said, 'Let's show what this is like'….What I've learned is that every woman struggles with pregnancy and even postpartum depression one way or another. Every woman struggles differently. I'm trying to show all the variations of normal for postpartum and motherhood."
Scroll down to meet the moms proudly showing off their postpartum bellies and battle scars in these before and after pregnancy photos!
More info: harshe.blog | Instagram
This post may include affiliate links.
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#2
JillVille 6 years ago
I just cried for this woman. I felt that pain and hopelessness too. I am 20 years from there now, it was a struggle, my husband didn't understand at all and just got mad when I'd get irrationally emotional. Ladies, it does get better. Sometimes it just takes awhile. (((HUGS)))
#15
Stephanie Hutner 6 years ago
Is this what always happens to a woman's body after they have a baby? I'm honestly asking. I don't have kids yet.
#16
Rachael Sanman 6 years ago
I don't know what it is exactly about this photo... It is simple & elegant. She is stunning.
#18
Cathryn Cash 6 years ago
Why the hell did I have to confirm I was 18 to see this? Our world is f****d up! I can see graphic violence, updating headlines about paedophiles, ridiculously overly sexual adverts which I don't want to see, but I can't see a baby having its dinner?!
#19
Lucida 6 years ago
I like this text, it's honest. These bellys are not beautiful, but they are real. I'm pregnant with my first and none of my friends have got bellys looking like these after their childbirth's so I did not think it was this common and now I'm scared I will look like this. If I will look like this, I will also have trouble letting my husband touch and a look at my belly. But just as she writes in the last sentence, one should be thankful for ones mommy body.
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Amina Hays 6 years ago
The uterus is the size of a small pear but when it's housed a baby it obviously gets a lot bigger to accommodate. That's quite a size difference so it'll take as long as it takes to shrink back. Everyone is different.
#28
Lucida 6 years ago
I don't get these pictures of the placenta. For me, it just looks disgusting. I know, it's natural and all that and I think the placenta is a really cool and amazing thing. I mean, we pregnant women start growing a hole new organ! How cool isn't that!? But I still don't see the point in showing it of. It's a beautiful thing that enables new life, but it's in no way beautiful to look at. I mean, pooping is also natural and it's amazing how are bodies function, but we don't want to see a picture of a women with a big s**t in her lap, do we?
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Kerri Russ 6 years ago
The Mom Body is so soft and reassuring and appears much more healthy. Both versions of you are gorgeous and that baby... beautiful! Congrats!
#39
BusLady 6 years ago
These celebrity moms are set up as an example of what we "should" look like postpartum. It disgusts me. How many of us have a nutritionist, personal trainer, a gym room in our home, and access to tummy tuck surgery? And how many of us have lots of idle time bc we are "between projects" and have a full time nanny to care for the baby?
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Sharon Byrd 6 years ago
S**t. Still got my pooch 30 years later! Lol. Sigh, I guess it ain't going anywhere
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Ruth Elliott 6 years ago
Uhuh, this lovely lady has never had a baby. She promotes body confidence on Instagram.
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What do you think ?
Mindy Keys 6 years ago
They should show these in schools to promote birth control. I'm an adult and it's terrifying me!
Crazy Dog Lady 6 years ago
I wish I could be proud of my post-babies (3!) belly. I'm trying but it is not easy.
Sarah Hartness 6 years ago
All mother's should be proud. As a woman whom can't seem to have babies, I get to deal with stretch marks from growing too fast during puberty. All these pictures show are battle wounds from a wonderful miracle!
FuzzyWuzzy 6 years ago
We all have our own crosses to bear. The trade off of receiving the marvelous gift of a life comes with many different hardships and one is losing the perfect body you may have had before becoming pregnant. It's one of those things we are not really warned about so these stories may be a good way to high light the realities of motherhood. I chose not to have children but not because of what it might do to my body but the responsibilities of raising a child was not in my genes. I never had that "I have to have a baby!" thing that some women go through, but I understand and admire those who do and do their best to be the best mother they can be!
Vicky Stardust 6 years ago
Why people (especially women) feel an urge to show their bodies beats me. It's your business.
Carmen Elena 6 years ago
The human body is so strong and beautiful! As a mom, I have to say it´s never easy to become a mother, no matter how much you read, get prepared, or whatever... it´s hard and frustrating: the crying, the long nights... but we love our kids :)
Randy Inbred 6 years ago
Kudos. To all these women and the millions of others who become mothers.
Lilly 6 years ago
There is so much TRUTH & BEAUTY in these pics! I wish it was like this when i was having my babies in the 80's, when it was still the 'norm' to wear tent-like maternity tops to hide the belly. THIS is real life, folks, and it's great that women aren't hiding those baby bumps! CELEBRATE LIFE & ALL THAT COMES WITH IT!
Anna Salerno 6 years ago
Most women get some stretch marks but, I'd certainly NEVER show them off. How disgusting these photos are. How different society is today. There seems to be no modesty left at all any more!! BARF!!
KrisF 6 years ago
My mom's stomach still has a lot of extra skin and scarring from us- and still covers up nearly 3 decades later. Just in baby weight (so not counting fluid or placenta, etc), my twin and I were over 15 lb combined, then add in a rushed emergency C-Section with complications and her skin had no way to bounce back. She used to get mistaken for still being pregnant several months later.
Hans 6 years ago
The "no one talks about" makes me somewhat sad and somewhat skeptical. Over her, first-time parents typically take a weekend-course on birth, breastfeeding, baby hygiene etc. 3 or so months before delivery. Essentially everything to get you ready. When I took it with my wife, we where shocked how little otherwise well-educated people knew, although reading a easy-language, many-pictures 100 pages book would have provided you with 90% of what you would need to know already. Apgar score? post-partum depression? Collostrum? None had ever heart of that. Some asked questions such as "Is it OK to give the pacifier in the delivery room right after birth?" or "Which laundry scent will my baby like most? I would like to use a lot of it already!". Tabooisation is one side of the story, not educating you is another. The first year in a human's life is too precious to go totally naive!
Miklós Nagy 6 years ago
"No One Talks About" Excuse me, but de these people had no mothers they could consult with?
Chyppa Homer 6 years ago
Sooo it's settled then. No more kids ! It will solve the ugly belly problem, the overpopulation problem, be less neurosis, less traffic, less shopping carts left in the middle of the aisle. Everyone will be more relaxed, and happy. Except the winemakers. They will be pissed ! :D
Mindy Keys 6 years ago
They should show these in schools to promote birth control. I'm an adult and it's terrifying me!
Crazy Dog Lady 6 years ago
I wish I could be proud of my post-babies (3!) belly. I'm trying but it is not easy.
Sarah Hartness 6 years ago
All mother's should be proud. As a woman whom can't seem to have babies, I get to deal with stretch marks from growing too fast during puberty. All these pictures show are battle wounds from a wonderful miracle!
FuzzyWuzzy 6 years ago
We all have our own crosses to bear. The trade off of receiving the marvelous gift of a life comes with many different hardships and one is losing the perfect body you may have had before becoming pregnant. It's one of those things we are not really warned about so these stories may be a good way to high light the realities of motherhood. I chose not to have children but not because of what it might do to my body but the responsibilities of raising a child was not in my genes. I never had that "I have to have a baby!" thing that some women go through, but I understand and admire those who do and do their best to be the best mother they can be!
Vicky Stardust 6 years ago
Why people (especially women) feel an urge to show their bodies beats me. It's your business.
Carmen Elena 6 years ago
The human body is so strong and beautiful! As a mom, I have to say it´s never easy to become a mother, no matter how much you read, get prepared, or whatever... it´s hard and frustrating: the crying, the long nights... but we love our kids :)
Randy Inbred 6 years ago
Kudos. To all these women and the millions of others who become mothers.
Lilly 6 years ago
There is so much TRUTH & BEAUTY in these pics! I wish it was like this when i was having my babies in the 80's, when it was still the 'norm' to wear tent-like maternity tops to hide the belly. THIS is real life, folks, and it's great that women aren't hiding those baby bumps! CELEBRATE LIFE & ALL THAT COMES WITH IT!
Anna Salerno 6 years ago
Most women get some stretch marks but, I'd certainly NEVER show them off. How disgusting these photos are. How different society is today. There seems to be no modesty left at all any more!! BARF!!
KrisF 6 years ago
My mom's stomach still has a lot of extra skin and scarring from us- and still covers up nearly 3 decades later. Just in baby weight (so not counting fluid or placenta, etc), my twin and I were over 15 lb combined, then add in a rushed emergency C-Section with complications and her skin had no way to bounce back. She used to get mistaken for still being pregnant several months later.
Hans 6 years ago
The "no one talks about" makes me somewhat sad and somewhat skeptical. Over her, first-time parents typically take a weekend-course on birth, breastfeeding, baby hygiene etc. 3 or so months before delivery. Essentially everything to get you ready. When I took it with my wife, we where shocked how little otherwise well-educated people knew, although reading a easy-language, many-pictures 100 pages book would have provided you with 90% of what you would need to know already. Apgar score? post-partum depression? Collostrum? None had ever heart of that. Some asked questions such as "Is it OK to give the pacifier in the delivery room right after birth?" or "Which laundry scent will my baby like most? I would like to use a lot of it already!". Tabooisation is one side of the story, not educating you is another. The first year in a human's life is too precious to go totally naive!
Miklós Nagy 6 years ago
"No One Talks About" Excuse me, but de these people had no mothers they could consult with?
Chyppa Homer 6 years ago
Sooo it's settled then. No more kids ! It will solve the ugly belly problem, the overpopulation problem, be less neurosis, less traffic, less shopping carts left in the middle of the aisle. Everyone will be more relaxed, and happy. Except the winemakers. They will be pissed ! :D
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