Never one to make things appear better than they are or filter out the hardships of parenting, Mel Watts of The Modern Mumma fame has shown what a real post-caesarean section body looks like on Instagram.
Sharing a composite image of her tummy four days after giving birth to son Sonny beside one at 30 weeks pregnant, Watts illustrated both the differences and similarities in a stomach before and after birth, encouraging her followers to embrace the body for what it can do, rather than what it looks like.
“Honestly it’s no castle or bloody piece of art. Sure it’s filled with stretch marks and dimples. But this body, this one the one I own gave me another life. Another small human to love and to hold,” she wrote on Instagram alongside the image.
“It held onto him for nine months and sheltered him, protected him and prepared him for the day he was born. So many times I’ve doubted my body, so many times I’ve pinched and pulled at sections that I didn’t like.
“In reality this body has done everything I’d ever want it to do. Sure it’s not magazine or swimsuit worthy to some. But to me and my husband, it’s the place that grew our babies. It’s the place that everything we love most started. And that’s all that counts right?!”
The mum-of-four went on to encourage other mums – and women – to understand “nobody has the same body” which is even more reason we need to “enjoy it”.
On Tuesday, Watts announced the birth of her fourth child on Instagram.
“Welcome to the world Sonny George Watts,” she wrote. “He came out screaming but is now all settled. We’re both doing well. Mumma’s on the hard stuff and recovering,” adding she is “absolutely in love”.
Congratulations, Watts family!
Top Comments
I think it's fantastic that she's doing this and that people are talking openly about what they looked like and how they felt after their c-section. However what i do have an issue with is how you chose to title your article, insinuating that you are not a real woman if you didn't look like that is as insulting as saying you are not a real woman if you don't instantly have a perfectly flat stomach. Every womans body is different and that should be celebrated!
I agree with you anii. The use of the word real really upsets me. Are you u saying someone with the body of say Rebecca judd- isn't real?( As I've seen written many times before she switched her comments off) My friend just had a c section to twins- she keeps comparing herself to Rebecca judd who was at the polo four weeks after her twins were born via c section... where my friend was still in her teds four weeks later and could hardly walk. I had to remind her not to compare herself to someone else. Those woman are both real- their own versions of real. They are both real c sections. Both woman carried their babies, both woman endured the surgeries- their bodies however recovered differently.just like each pregnancy is different we all recover different- we are all not one size fits all.
I've had three children and my body recovers four days later back to a size 6. I don't have nannies, chefs or trainers. It's just MY body, it's my normal. I have to keep up major calorie intake whilst breastfeeding to keep weight on. I battle with people thinking I eat like a bird- where I eat more then my husband. Body shaming swings both ways. Let's just celebrate healthy mums and babies rather then what peoples ideas of real are. Every woman should be celebrated. They are all "real"
My thoughts also.
The Modern Mumma posted another photo with a really long caption addressing this exact problem. She was saying every woman's body is real, this is just a photo of HERS and not a statement on anyone else.