We're totally here for this empowering Instagram account celebrating women's post-baby bodies
When you’ve just had a baby, once the initial shock of bringing home a tiny human begins to fade, your focus may likely switch to ‘getting your body back.’
Because even though motherhood means that life as you know it will never be the same again, we somehow expect our bodies to be.
But, growing a baby for nine months, then giving birth to that baby and all the impact that has, is bound to take its toll.
Doesn’t mean we’re ready to talk about though.
Well step forward Instagram account @takebackpostpartum, a wonderfully honest collection of images of women’s real life post-baby bodies.
Not only does the Instagram account sprinkle body positivity by encouraging mums to share images of their baby and birth battle scars, it actively urges women to celebrate them.
Set up by mum and blogger January Harshe, the project is proudly flying the flag for post-baby body acceptance by making a stand against the glossy ‘bounce back’ images splashed across social media feeds.
Fed up with advertisers using the #postpartum hashtag to promote unrealistic post-birth body goals, January asked other mums to join her in ‘taking back’ the tag by flooding it with images of real post-baby bodies.
And while there’s certainly no shortage of post-baby bumps and blemishes being shared, mums are also using the platform to open up about the warts and all reality of new motherhood.
“Postpartum is full of hormones, little sleep, survival mode, and figuring out a million different things with our new babies (and possibly toddlers and teenagers on top of it),” she wrote in her initial blog post.
“It’s trying to breastfeed, getting a groove back in your marriage or relationship, and our bodies taking time to heal. It’s a roller coaster ride that is personal and different to each person and family going through it, but is also similar enough that most of us can relate on some level.”
“LET’S TAKE BACK POSTPARTUM. We are mothers and strong women. Our collective voice is so powerful that we can shake the entire world.”
Since setting up the project two years ago, the site has received thousands of posts and has more than 125K followers keen to celebrate their bodies and lives post-baby.
Swipe through to see some of the most honest and empowering shares.
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