Mum determined to prove that ‘bouncing back’ after birth is a myth

She's not wrong.

Anyone who's had a baby will know that how the media portrays new mums, both in movies and TV and in coverage of celeb mamas, can be more than a little off. One of the most unrealistic expectations placed on mums post-birth has to be the idea of 'bouncing back'. Growing, carrying and then squeezing out a human is no mean feat for anyone's body, which is why we long seeing new mums sharing how they really look after giving birth.

A post shared by ????????- ᗰᗩᗰᗩ OF TWO (@aforeverlylove) on Nov 6, 2017 at 6:36am PST

Courtney Baird, from New Hampshire in the US, is out to dispel the bouncing back myth. Already a mum to two-year-old daughter Everly, she gave birth to her son Forden recently and has been sharing what her body looks like since. She told Us Weekly that during her first pregnancy, she was certain her body would go back to how it had looked pre-baby straight away but instead found that she still looked pregnant after Everly was born. Writing on Instagram earlier this month, she revealed that he has to remind herself "to be kind about my body and all the hard work it did to grow not only our sweet girl two years ago, but also our big healthy 9lb 4oz baby boy a little over a week ago. "You did good body, you did good." A week later she shared another update, explaining that the uterus itself is supposed to be big after giving birth.

A post shared by ????????- ᗰᗩᗰᗩ OF TWO (@aforeverlylove) on Nov 14, 2017 at 4:50am PST

"After some research I learned that in a week, your uterus still weighs a little over a pound – half of what it weighed just after you gave birth," she wrote. "After two weeks, it's down to a mere 11 ounces and located entirely within your pelvis. "By about four weeks, it should be close to its pre-pregnancy weight of 3.5 ounces or less. How crazy is that?!" Her #10monthspregnant updates have earned the praise of her followers. "I love that your posting these so first time moms know how bodies bounce back!," wrote one. "It’s a beautiful thing how our bodies work!" "Thank you for being so honest about before and after birth," commented another. "As a first time mom expecting in a month, I really appreciate knowing what the reality of postpartum really looks like."