Julie Bhosale has inspired new mums everywhere by simply lifting her tee-shirt and giving the world a glimpse of her postpartum tummy. The mother-of-two blogger has posted a blog post titled, My Real Postpartum Body, to speak to mothers everywhere.
She writes:
“I am a mother. I am tired, broken and sore. I have lumps, bumps, marks and jiggly bits.
I am a mother. I have created, grown, carried and birthed two gorgeous sons.”
Her post chronicles the first three months after the birth of her second child and is fantastically honest. At times emotional, at times positive, at times pissed off and always real.
“In case you are wondering – that lovely scar down my belly is from some major abdominal surgery I went through as a 21 year old. Two pregnancies has morphed and stretched this. Never mind, it just becomes the ‘feature piece’ of my stretch marks. May have to reconsider my dream job as a bikini model….”
“Sometimes I wonder why the hell did I want this so badly, but for the most part I love it, stupidly love it all.”
The post has received huge response from mothers everywhere:
“Thank you for this wonderful, honest and encouraging post. When I saw your photos I thought: I See lumps, bumps, marks and jiggly bits, alright, but I also see a truly beautiful woman and mother,” writes one reader.
The nutritionist mum had a few misgivings prior to posting the snaps, fearing a backlash:
“I was worried about being judged and people making negative comments – I am a mum after all.
“But I have just been blown away by all the comments, messages, feedback and sharing of the blog. I stay up late at night reading them all and many of them have brought me to tears.”
L-R: Pre-birth and 24 hours postpartum
As the proud owner of a permanent Mum Pouch I love seeing women sharing their own Pouch journeys. As a vulnerable new mum it can be hard to stomach (ba-doom) the Bounce-back Brigade, especially as it’s an unrealistic ideal that few mums will experience immediately after the physical and emotional upheaval of pregnancy and birth. The more we normalise our perfectly imperfect mum bods, the better we’ll all feel about the stomach that can now double up as a knapsack.
Read My Real Postpartum Body here.
