New Mom Posts Raw “Unflattering” Picture After Giving Birth

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We all watched in awe as Kate Middleton strolled out of the hospital just hours after birthing her third child, looking like the cover of a magazine.

Just about everyone was amazed by how fantastic she looked.

The expectation vs reality of childbirth however, can be so far apart, after seeing those pics. But one mom shared a raw postpartum photo to show people what it usually looks like.

The majority of people don’t actually have a team of professionals standing by to do their hair and makeup. They don’t have a private wing of the hospital, or their own medical staff to assist during labor. We don’t all walk out of the labor room looking like a million bucks. And that’s fine because our bodies did amazing things.

This is why Nat Jorge-Martin shared her raw postpartum photo.

She wants everyone to know that there’s nothing wrong with embracing the real and raw.

The caption reads, “Why would I post this picture? You can see all the cellulite on my fat legs. My stomach looks huge, like I am still pregnant. My ankles are so swollen they look like logs. You can see the pad in my unflattering hospital panties. I have no makeup on and my hair hasn’t been brushed in days. Why would I post this picture?
Because this is postpartum. This is REAL. THIS IS CHILDBIRTH.”

Nat continues, “You will not bounce back once that baby comes out of you. You will not “lose the baby weight” super quickly. Your ankles will still be swollen and your belly will still be round. And there’s NOTHING wrong with that. You just brought a baby into the world. Whether you had a vaginal birth or a c-section, a child emerged from your body and that’s a HUGE deal! I asked my husband to take this photo because it was the first time I stood up in days and the first time I held my baby all by myself, without wires connecting me to a bed. This moment was so beautiful, I got to sway side to side while holding the life I sustained for 9 months.”

Why would I post this picture? You can see all the cellulite on my fat legs. My stomach looks huge, like I am still pregnant. My ankles are so swollen they look like logs. You can see the pad in my unflattering hospital panties. I have no makeup on and my hair hasn’t been brushed in days. Why would I post this picture? Because this is postpartum. This is REAL. THIS IS CHILDBIRTH. You will not bounce back once that baby comes out of you. You will not “lose the baby weight” super quickly. Your ankles will still be swollen and your belly will still be round. And there’s NOTHING wrong with that. You just brought a baby into the world. Whether you had a vaginal birth or a c-section, a child emerged from your body and that’s a HUGE deal! I asked my husband to take this photo because it was the first time I stood up in days and the first time I held my baby all by myself, without wires connecting me to a bed. This moment was so beautiful, I got to sway side to side while holding the life I sustained for 9 months. I didn’t care that my robe was open and you could see my chunky legs or the ugly hospital panties. All I cared about was that I was a mother now; and that I was head over heels in love with this little human. I’m still not happy with my body and I still have days where I look in the mirror and whisper “ugh, this is what I look like now” under my breath. I am not happy with how my body looks but I am immensely grateful for what it has done. It grew a life out of a few cells. It labored for 26 hours and it was opened on a table to bring that life into this world. I share this photo because it’s REAL, beautiful, and in this moment I felt LOVE and happiness. #celebrating_my_postpartum . . . #ig_motherhood #momcommunity #motherhoodunplugged #momhub #motherhoodthroughinstagram #featuremama #unitedinmotherhood #uniteinmotherhood #honestlymothering #dailyparenting #oureverydaymoments #joyfulmama #honestmotherhood #featuremama #memoirsofmotherhood #selflove #postpartumbody #takebackpostpartum #csectionrecovery #effyourbeautystandards #postpartumjourney #csection #youareenough #fourthtrimester #fourthtrimesterbodiesproject #igm_033

A post shared by Disney, Breastfeed, Repeat ✨ (@natthenaturalmom) on Feb 19, 2018 at 3:25pm PST

“I share this photo because it’s REAL, beautiful, and in this moment I felt LOVE and happiness.”

It’s a gorgeous photo. It’s real and raw and you can feel her love and strength.

And there’s nothing wrong with celebrating realistic postpartum. Our bodies just did the most wondrous thing! And they deserve to be recognized and celebrated for that, no matter what we look like.

“Today my baby is 9 months old. As of today, my baby has lived on this earth as long as she lived in my womb. For 18 months my body has sustained her life. First, through my placenta and now through my breastmilk.”

April is C-Section Awareness month! 💜✨ So I thought it would be fitting to give you guys a little glimpse of my birth story! • This was me minutes after my baby was placed on my chest. I chose my hospital because if I ended up having a c-section (which was my biggest fear)I wanted to have skin to skin and the ability to latch her on immediately after delivery. 26 hours of induced labor later and my 10lb 4oz baby was stuck in my birth canal. She wasn’t going to be able to handle the stress of my trying to push her out, or of being stuck for too long and I wasn’t dilating at all. So I cried as they wheeled me to the OR and the entire time I was thinking about how I wasn’t going to get to give birth to my baby. She was going to be ripped out of me. • I have had a lot of time to think about my birth and how it was the exact opposite of what I envisioned…but it gave me my amazing daughter. I no longer think of it as this traumatizing event or as if I didn’t birth her. SHE CAME OUT OF MY BODY. No matter how, she emerged from inside of me. I birthed her in the way that was necessary for her to be a part of our lives. • C-Section mamas, YOU STILL GAVE BIRTH. If you wanted a vaginal birth but had a c-section, that’s okay!!! You gave birth to a little human and you are a warrior because recovering from a section while being a new mom is no easy feat. 💜✨ . . . . . . #csectionrecovery #csectionmom #csectionbaby #csectionawarenessmonth #csectionmommy #birthisbirth #birthstory #ig_motherhood #momcommunity #motherhoodunplugged #momhub #motherhoodthroughinstagram #featuremama #unitedinmotherhood #uniteinmotherhood #honestlymothering #dailyparenting #oureverydaymoments #joyfulmama #honestmotherhood #memoirsofmotherhood #momentscollected #motherhoodisdarling #motherhoodunhinged

A post shared by Disney, Breastfeed, Repeat ✨ (@natthenaturalmom) on Apr 5, 2018 at 3:15pm PDT

Thanks for you sharing your powerful postpartum photo, Nat!

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