After the 39-year-old TV personality and model gave birth to a baby boy in October 2017, she encouraged fellow mums by posting photos and videos of her (realistic) postpartum body. She wrote: “It’s going to be a long road ahead to get our pre-baby bodies back, but don’t despair, and don’t give yourself too much pressure either. After all, it took us 10 months to get that pregnancy body; it will take some time to go back to ‘normal’.”

She even uploaded a video of her post-baby stomach, saying, “A lot of people wonder what a post-pregnancy (especially the stomach area) looks like. Well, in all honesty, it ain’t pretty. Considering what your body goes through during a pregnancy (how much the skin stretches, how your organs are moved around and kicked and punched by your baby), well, there’s bound to be some battle scars.” Watch the video below:

 

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A post shared by Janet Hsieh (@janetagram) on Nov 18, 2017 at 4:09am PST

Australian fitness guru and Instagram fitness sensation Kayla Itsines also debuted her post-baby body on Instagram, which clearly shows her mum tum. (The shot on the left was the last photo she took before giving birth, and the right photo was taken a week after giving birth.) She writes:

“For me, regardless of how my body healed post-birth, I felt it was really important for me personally to embrace, appreciate and celebrate my body the same way that I tell all the women in this community to celebrate their body. For me right now, I celebrate my body for all it has been through and the absolute joy it has brought into my life with Arna. As a personal trainer, all I can hope for you ladies is that you feel encouraged to do the same regardless of whether you have just given birth or not, celebrate your body and the gift that it is. No matter what journey you have been on with your body, the ways in which it heals, supports, strengthens and adapts to take us through life is truly incredible.”

About eight weeks after giving birth to her daughter in October 2018, the Hollywood actress posted a mirror selfie in gym attire, clearly displaying her postpartum tummy. She wrote a lengthy caption about taking time to focus on her health now that she’s established a routine with baby, and how determined she is to get back in shape. She writes:

“MY GOAL: I will be shooting a film in the spring and I’m looking to shed 25lbs. I’d like to try new workouts and eat as healthy as I can. I wanna do all this and keep up milk production, raise my kids, work everyday, make time for my man, have girlfriend time and stay sane!”

The hilarious and relatable Lip Sync Battle host is pretty much an open book. Just four days after giving birth to her and John Legend’s son Miles Theodore, the 33-year-old mum shared the reality of motherhood in a photo of her wearing postpartum mesh underwear. She hilariously called it “Asian pear underwear” (she’s even holding a wrapped pear!).

On Twitter, Chrissy put her “mom bod” on display, stretch marks and all:

mom bod alert! pic.twitter.com/Qi0BZvLmhV

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) 31 July 2018

The Victoria’s Secret model hit the beach in a bikini 12 days after giving birth to her second son in 2018. She hit back at papparazzi and reports shaming her postpartum body, posting the following image on her Instagram story, saying that she’s not ashamed to show my post partum tummy” and is “proud” of it.

“I carried my son for 9 months in there, I think I’ve earned the right to have a little tummy,” she writes. You go girl!

The Spanish yoga instructor, who is married to Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin, is often candid on social media about pregnancy and everything that comes with it. (In April 2019, she openly shared about her heartbreaking miscarriage as it happened.)

In May 2018, she posted this mirror selfie the morning after giving birth to her fourth child, in hopes to “normalize the postpartum figure and over the next days, weeks, and months, show you how I strengthen my body and return to my non pregnant self.”

She also encourages fellow mums by saying, “We just have to be patient and kind with our bodies. […] I have so much respect and admiration for the human body…I hope that intention shines through and we can inspire each other to be healthier and happier.”

Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway, 36, got real about pregnancy weight gain, when she shared a snapshot of a cut-up pair of jeans. The mum-of-one did this so she could wear shorts for the summer, as her prep-baby shorts don’t fit her anymore. She says that there’s “no shame in gaining weight during pregnancy (or ever)”, and that women shouldn’t feel ashamed “if it takes longer than you think it will to lose the weight”.

“Bodies change. Bodies grow. Bodies shrink. It’s all love (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise).”

The two-time Dancing with the Stars winner took this photos eight days after giving birth to her son, Shai. “I left the hospital looking 5 months pregnant. Many people think a woman should shrink right back to her pre-birth weight immediately. That is just not the truth for most. The female body is incredible and resilient, but healing and strengthening take time,” she writes.

Continue through the gallery to see more real mums showing what a real postpartum body looks like:

“A saggy belly doesn’t make us less lovable. The postpartum period is messy and complicated. There’s a toll on our bodies and mind. It’s hard and beautiful. So let’s support one another and more importantly let’s change the way we talk about our bodies. No shame, more love and truth. There’s a huge difference between saying ‘I love my body but I don’t like this’ to ‘I’m ashamed because of it’ […] What words have you used to refer to your body? What can you say differently? Let’s change our body talk together.”

“I was sitting in my little corner of the world swearing up and down that I was the only person who looked like me. It’s a lonely feeling. Made even more lonely because I had been convinced that stretch marks and scars and loose skin were disgusting. […] We have a life to live, laughter to share, and love to ignite the passions that drive our purpose. We have endless gifts to share with the world and we can’t even begin to think about it if we’re constantly lost in our alleged brokenness and feelings of shame. This feeling stops us from being able to do more than rock a crop top. It stops us from pursuing opportunities, relationships, and pleasure because that’s how deep these issues run. […] Be a whole person thrusting yourself towards the gifts meant for you and then share them with the world that needs them desperately.”

“A mark for every breath you took, every blink, every sleepy yawn. One for every time you sucked your thumb and slept in perfect darkness. One for every dream you dreamt. It was your home and where I grew to love you. I’ve earned my stripes and am embracing them more and more everyday. postpartum bodies are different but show the beauty of being given the chance to bring life into this world.”

“It took me 18 months to get here, 18 months to not cry when I look in the mirror, 18 months to finally feel beautiful in my own skin again! No one warns you about the dark sides of motherhood and pregnancy.. no one gives you a heads up on how much you change physically and mentally after you become a mother. It’s been a long and hard postpartum ride for me […] I feel like I can finally see the light and it genuinely feels amazing […] Cheers to motherhood, cheers to knowing that this too shall pass! And things will get better.”

“When I look down I see stretch marks that are here to stay, ab muscles that need continued strengthening, legs that are powerful, and feet that are ready to fly!”

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Text: www.bauersyndication.com.sg / Additional reporting: Elizabeth Liew