“When the doctor came in, he immediately saw the huge chunk of flesh. He looked extremely shocked. I was in the most pain I’d ever been in my life. It honestly felt worse than giving birth. The doctor said, ‘Okay, I’m going to gently pull this out of you and figure out what we need to do next to get whatever that is out.’ Everyone’s face was of shock.”
‘I have no idea what that is.’ He knelt down while I was on the toilet. The color left his face.’: Woman battles postpartum depression, degenerative disk disease, ‘I made the decision to change my attitude towards myself’
‘Eeww, look at those gross bumps,’ you said to your friends as you filled your slushies. ‘She should really have a cover-up on.’: Mom of 4 embraces postpartum body after public shaming
“My kiddos and I were at the indoor water park this weekend for a family birthday celebration. As I stood in line to get some overpriced hotdogs, you and 3 of your friends were behind me. My boobs were saggy. My stomach, flabby. I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.”
‘My breasts are different. My hips are different. I’m happy with different. It means I did everything I wanted my body to do.’: Mom says ‘there is no bounce back’ after childbirth
“This amazing thing happens when you become a mother: you transition into something different, something new. I can work out every day and get in awesome shape, but I still haven’t bounced back. I can go out with friends, do the things I’ve always enjoyed, but I still haven’t bounced back.”
‘It’s not hard. Just stop being a jerk. I get praised for being a ‘great husband,’ but that’s nonsense.’: Husband gets super candid about wife’s postpartum body, ‘The soft, pillowy skin around her belly button held my 3 best friends for 18 months’
“I’m literally doing the bare minimum by loving my wife for who she is, ‘imperfections’ and all. Sure, things look and feel slightly different — but in the grand scheme of things, nothing changed. The reasons I fell in love with her had nothing to do with her body.”
‘I gave birth to my sixth baby just six weeks ago. I have porn star-sized boobs as my milk finally came in. I’m wondering if I’ll ever look ‘normal down there’ ever again.’
“We all are so well prepared through pregnancy. Now, it feel like I’m giving birth all over again when I poop. I’m wearing mesh panties and bought more when I ran out of my hospital stash.”
‘Not all of us have washboard stomachs in bikinis when their baby is 1-year-old. Some of us still look a pregnant, some of us have muscle separation that won’t heal without surgery. AND THAT IS OK!’
“When I look at my children, I feel invincible. I grew them, I birthed them, and I have the scars to prove it. Talk to yourself as if you’re the most important person in the world, because to little humans, you are.”
‘One person told me, ‘Your stomach is so nasty. How can you be confident and sexy when you look like that? Take care of that mess of a body.’ Those harsh words stick. Ugly. Fat. Worthless.’
“Out of nowhere, I was being told I should ‘lose the baby weight’ so I could get back to the way things were before. WHAT? How I was before? Before what?”
‘I was so nervous to have sex. I was 3 months postpartum. We booked a hotel for our first night away since the triplets were born.’
“On our first night away post-babies, I realized a lot about intimacy.”
‘Ewww put that away. I’ll never get stretchmarks like that when I’m pregnant.’ It was such a personal attack – feelings of shame and disgust had me cringing at my husband’s touch.’
“I was left curled up on the couch in the fetal position. I remember grabbing my thighs and crying to my husband, ‘How am I so big already? How could I possibly get any bigger?’ My 3-year-old son asked, ‘Mama, what’s wrong with your belly?’”
‘I was a prisoner to thinness. I’ve gained 75 pounds. But something miraculous happened.’: Woman overcomes eating disorder after sexual trauma
“I was 6 when I wore my first bathing suit in a beauty competition. I was 8 when my dance instructor told my mom I was too chubby. I was 15 when I became addicted to diet pills. After seeing myself go through so much to bring my children into the world, I now know that worthiness is my birthright.”
