Becoming a mum is one of the most exciting times of a woman's life, but for some mums the experience can be marred by self esteem issues.
Mum's bodies change as they complete one of the most amazing feats life has to offer, and while a baby is the best gift you could ever recieve, being left with stretch marks and excess skin is the one pregnancy gift most women would like to return.
Blogger Alexandra Kilmurray, who runs natural parenting blog Mother by Nature, took to Instagram to share her "mummy tummy" and "mom bod" with the world, in a bid to promote self acceptance amongst mums whose confidence has been knocked by their pregnancy.
"Well, I know a lot of you guys are probably thinking 'why would she post this picture', but, it took me 18 months to get here, 18 months to not cry when I look in the mirror, 18 months to finally feel beautiful in my own skin again!" she begins, in a caption on the Instagram picture.
"No one warns you about the dark sides of motherhood and pregnancy.. no one gives you a heads up on how much you change physically and mentally after you become a mother."
"It's been a long and hard postpartum ride for me.. 18 months after my first son and 5 months after my second son I feel like I can finally see the light and it genuinely feels amazing cheers to you mamas who are battling postpartum depression and still getting up everyday for your children!"
"Cheers to you mamas who still cry about the marks on your skin from birthing your perfect babies! Cheer to motherhood, cheers to knowing that this too shall pass! And things will get better" she finished.
Fellow mums have been rushing to the post to thank Alexandra for her honesty: "So refreshing to see raw honesty. My tummy is the same it's tough to learn to love it in the picture perfect society we live in but posts like this help so many of us feel like we are not alone. Thank you."
Hats off to Alexandra for proving that "mom bods" and "mummy tummies" are definitely beautiful despite societal beauty standards.
