15 Women Who Showed Their Bodies Post Pregnancy And Each Scar Holds A Powerful Story Of Resilience And Struggle

Posted by Sama in Feel Good
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Pregnancy is no fun ride. From saggy skin to stretch marks to jiggly belly, one faces this all after pregnancy. All of this may seem like a horror story but the fact that all this struggle is for bringing a beautiful human in the world kind of makes it all worthwhile. These beautiful women are sharing their postpartum pictures and each scar in the picture holds a story of struggle and birth of little humans.

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#5

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I used to weigh myself every morning. I would always make sure to go to the bathroom first. There would be a rush of anxiety as the scale blinked while I stared down in anticipation. It was the moment that would depict how I approached my day. Would I be positive and embrace the day happily because the number was a whole .1 lower than yesterday morning? Or would I angrily start brushing my teeth and threaten myself to only eat a salad for today because the number was a whole .1 higher than yesterday? This was how I lived. It was destroying me. And I was completely convinced that this was the only way to be happy. This was the only way I would get to where I was supposed to be in order to become a mother. I repeated to myself that the only way to be happy was to be skinny. So I lost weight. And it never felt like it was enough. I worked out only to lose weight, rather than the way I do now where I focus more on how it makes me feel. But then I had Maci. For the first time, I felt thankful for my body. There was a moment after she was born that I stood in the hospital bathroom just before I took my first postpartum shower. I was only in my robe as I stared into the mirror. I almost remember it in slow motion because I had avoided a mirror for years, even throughout most of my pregnancy. Locking eyes with myself, I tugged the string and the robe separated a few inches. I froze for a few seconds before I let the robe fall down to the ground. And there I was. I saw me for what felt like the very first time, but after another few seconds, I closed my eyes. I turned around and walked towards the shower. This moment was just the beginning of my self-love journey. It doesn’t happen quickly. But it never would have happened had I not tried. 💗 #this_is_postpartum

A post shared by Meg Boggs (@meg.boggs) on

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#6

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Time will push you to your limits, faster than you want it to, aging you in ways that make you ache, slow down, grow tired and weak. Laugh. Walk. Eat. Drink. Dance. Garden. Skip. Make an effort and stop time. Stand beneath a rainshower, let yourself become completely drenched. Nap under a tree, when the rest of the world goes to work. Get on a bicycle and go for a cruise. Drink that wine or milkshake slower than you ever thought you could... savour each drop. Babies will suck your energy up. Children will treat your body like a jungle gym, bruising your skin, and pulling your muscles. Jobs will have you sitting indoors for too long. Partners may take you for granted. Friends will be under the illusion that they are too busy for simpler times spent together. Musical instruments will sit in their cases, forgotten. Hair will go unwashed. First dates will be boring and waste your time. Lovers will rip your heart out and put you through emotional hell and back, leaving you gutted, insecure and distrusting. Labor and birth and early motherhood will be painful, hard and depleting; leaving you with a body you may not know so well, or feel so good about. The path of adulthood is textured and often, uphill. But. ❤ You are incredible. You are soft, and precious. Giving, and nurturing. Beautiful and sensual. 🔥❤You are worth honouring.❤🔥 🔥❤You are worth loving.❤🔥 🔥❤Stop for a moment, and love yourself.❤🔥 Repeat x infinity.

A post shared by 𝐞 𝐥 𝐥 𝐢 𝐚 𝐧 𝐚 𝐚 𝐥 𝐥 𝐨 𝐧 (@elliana_allon) on

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#9

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Strong. Brave. Empowered. Beautiful. United. MOTHERS. • There is something really special about uniting together on our Motherhood journeys, supporting and empowering one another despite how different we may be in all of our journeys as Mothers. • Motherhood is one of the most challenging experiences I have ever faced. I’ve struggled in my own journey of highs and lows as a Mother. I’ve walked through postpartum depression and anxiety. I’ve faced feelings of uncertainty and questioned my value and if I really am enough. The truth is, most of us don’t have a clue what we are doing and I think that really is what Motherhood is. At times we are too hard on ourselves focusing too much on what we are lacking, but what about what we are doing great and amazing! • Last summer, my daughter almost drowned. I blamed myself for a long time. Yet, my daughter, helped change my perspective. Anytime she talks about her accident she says with the biggest smile, “Mama, you SAVED me!!” Perspective is everything in parenting. You are valued Mama. You are loved. You are meeting the hearts of your children every single day. Hard days happen, but Mama, you are doing great! • There is something that bonds every single one of us as Mothers, and it is the incredible and overwhelming love we share for our children. We all understand that kind of love. That kind of love unites and empowers us to encourage and love on each other! Keep you doing YOU Mama. • Bra/undies: @kindredbravely #bravemomsunite #BraveMomAd #BeBravely #KindredBravely #Ad • Check out the Kindred Bravely website using my link bit.ly/ThePerfectMom and use discount code "PERFECT20" to receive 20% for those in the US

A post shared by Desiree Fortin (@theperfectmom) on

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#10

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It’s an understatement to say that pregnancy changes a woman’s body. • • This is what a postpartum body looks like for most women after giving birth. Not everyone goes back to their normal size. Not everyone is “lucky” to enough to not get stretch marks and not everyone has a flat tummy. I have extra skin, stretch marks. And guess what? IT’S BEAUTIFUL. I’m not a size 2 anymore, I’m a size 8. I don’t weigh 114lbs anymore, I weigh 135. • • I look at my stomach and at first glance- I’m not going to lie, I’m disgusted, but when I stare a little deeper I look at the sight of a miracle. In awe of the fact that my body supported life and carried five babies, (one I never got to meet). • • What if? What if we could really see the beauty in our amazing bodies instead of disgust and looking at all the things we need to “change” or “get rid of”. • • What if we all looked at ourselves in the mirror every day and said five things we loved about ourselves? What if we saw pictures like this and only saw strength, bravery and love? • • What if we all realized that rolls, stretch marks, extra skin, and fluctuating weight are all NORMAL? • • What if.. what if we just loved our bodies, unconditionally, in and through every season of life.

A post shared by Amber Nicole Hampton (@acrazybeautifullife) on

#12

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#14

#15

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Absolutely Beautiful ❤️❤️ #repost @th3littlestavenger Words written by my husband:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Hayley asked me to write something about her postpartum body.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ I figured it’d be easy but then I started thinking—what is there to even write about?⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ 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 any of the body parts affected by her postpartum.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ She still has the same beautiful smile, determined mind, banging body, and strong work ethic as the girl I fell in love with over 15 years ago.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ She still has the same sense of humor.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ She still smells great and tastes great too.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Her postpartum body does look and feel slightly different, but why should that be a factor in my life at all?⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ The soft pillowy skin around her belly button held my three best friends for 18 months.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ The marks show the strength it took to carry the weight of two beautiful girls that will be raised by this bad ass mom.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Nothing has changed or altered my love for my wife.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ I get praised for being a ‘great husband’, but that’s nonsense.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ I’m literally doing the bare minimum by loving my wife for who she is, “imperfections” and all. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Imperfections make the world fun.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ If everything was Barbie doll perfect, wouldn’t we all get bored?⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ How else would we show what life has put us through?⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ So whether it’s regrettable tattoos, scars, surgeries, dumb facial hair, or a postpartum tummy, honestly...who gives a shit?⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Be good to each other. Learn from mistakes-yours and others. Help those in need and let’s stop dwelling on who looks like what.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ My wife isn’t perfect and that’s what makes me love her.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ That’s why you are all reading this. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ If she was perfect, not a one of you would be able to relate to her. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ And to the husbands out there that don’t do their fair share of diaper duty, cooking, cleaning, and telling your wife how beautiful she is—step up your game bro.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ You’re a team.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ So yeah, I was supposed to write... continued in comments

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