“I am a mother, and I look like one.” This is something that has been hard for me to swallow. Just one year ago, I was a petite size 8, 21 year old, not a stretch mark in sight. I had never suffered with lack of body confidence, I was happy in myself. I cannot say the same to date. Since giving birth to my beautiful baby girl, I have struggled so much with learning to love my postpartum body which is now covered in stretch marks, lots of stretch marks… in places I didn’t even know stretch marks could go! I think one of the biggest reasons I struggle so much, is because as a now 22 year old, I don’t see many of the women on social media, that I admire, showing off their flaws.
I don’t see people posting pictures with their postpartum belly on show. We see perfect, edited images, and that’s what we feel we should look like. I have felt so alone in myself and my body, but I want that to change, I want to do my part to normalise stretch marks, to normalise mummy tummy’s, because it is all normal, and the more we see REAL images of REAL women, the more confidence we will all have.
Instagram: @palmalily
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