I’m sharing something a bit different today. It’s actually a series of photos taken by a lovely, fellow photographer friend, Mikaela Shannon. I stumbled upon this series in one of our photography Facebook groups, and was just in awe (and in tears) at how beautifully raw these photos are. As a mom who had to have a c-section, and knew the pain and the beauty behind these scars and stretch marks, I knew instantly that these postpartum photos must be shared with the world. Keep reading to find out more about the series, and see some gorgeous photos of motherhood.

WHAT DOES “LOVE YOUR POSTPARTUM” MEAN?

When I contacted Mikaela and asked her what inspired the series, she shared a bit of insight.

“I started the Love Your Postpartum series because I had a couple moms mention the idea, and I absolutely loved it. The series is very important for postpartum moms, but also someday moms. I think it is important for future moms to understand that your body will change, but that should be embraced. I want to help moms embrace the changes that come with having a baby, but I also want to help heal moms of everything they may have had to deal with for example I will have a couple moms coming in who babies are now angels, but even thought their babies are watching over them they are still postpartum moms.”

-Mikaela Shannon

POSTPARTUM BODY IMAGE STIGMA S A REAL THING

My best friend just had a baby. She is three months postpartum, and she asked me the other day whether she thinks she’ll bounce back anytime soon and when I lost my baby weight…and I just wanted to cry. I know how she is feeling. It’s so tough to feel beautiful again after all our bodies went through, but I just explained to her that it takes time, and that her body is incredibly strong and doing all it needs to do right now, which is sustain a human life with breastmilk, and recover.

I hate that our world makes it so that moms have to bounce back right away and go back to being a cover model, when in reality, it can take up to a year and sometimes two or three, depending on the mother and their situation, to lose the baby weight or to feel like yourself again.

I wrote about my experience with blogging, being in the public eye, and my own body image after having Grace. You can read about that here if you want to <3

*All photos here are taken by Mikaela Shannon. She granted me the rights and access to use these photos to spread her message to the world.

Follow Mikaela’s work on Instagram | Follow Mikaela’s work on Facebook

mikaelashannon.com

If you’re a mama who feels this resonates with you, go ahead and share this post to spread the word about postpartum love, ending that stigma, and  spreading Mikaela’s message and beautiful photography to the world.

Thank you so much for reading!

READ ABOUT MY STRUGGLES WITH POSTPARTUM BODY IMAGE AS A BLOGGER HERE.