It's no secret that your body goes through some major changes during and after pregnancy. But despite the fact that most of us know gaining weight is a part of pregnancy, the pressure to "bounce back" or to attain an ideal "post-baby body" means that it can sometimes be difficult to reconcile what happens to your body after you give birth.
Australian mom and fitness blogger Tammy Hembrow proves that body changes are inevitable, even if you do exercise every day. Earlier this week, she posted a photo of herself to Instagram showing off the loose skin on her stomach. In the photo, Hembrow is holding her daughter, whose foot is pressing into Hembrow's stomach, making her loose skin visible.
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"Proud of my mama bod & my loose skin," she captioned the photo.
Hembrow's photo is just further proof that there's no such thing as one ideal "mom body" — whether you head to the gym right after giving birth or not is up to you. But aside from expectations for women to lose weight after having a baby, society still isn't great about letting us have "flaws" like loose skin or stretch marks.
In fact, loose skin is common after weight loss — especially postpartum — and it's nothing to be ashamed of. The faster you lose weight, the more likely you are to have loose skin as your body hasn't had time to recover and regain elasticity.
Hembrow's photo has also been helping other moms feel a little less alone in their struggles.
"I had twins and was pregnant again 6 months later, so my skin wasn't coming back from that," one of her followers commented. "But the fact that you don't hide your's [sic] and embrace it makes me stop being so ashamed."
While it's normal to feel down about your body sometimes, we're glad Hembrow is proudly embracing what so many would deem a flaw.