Yahoo Lifestyle 
New mums show off post-birth bellies with pride
More and more new mums are feeling confident about sharing photos of their post baby bellies, in this amazing body-positivity movement.
Most recently TV host and author Daphne Oz earned serious props on Instagram week after doing the same.
“Seven weeks post-partum, still looking three months pregnant,” she captioned a mirror shot of herself in her underwear with a slightly round belly.
“There is no bounce-back, it’s all onwards and upwards,” she said.
“Every day has moments of total splendour and also a decent number of WTFs. I especially want the new mamas out there to hear that, because we see so much of how glossy motherhood can be and not enough of how real 3D life is always complicated (and better for it).
“Your experience will be just right for you. Prepare to be amazed by some things and horrified by others. Motherhood is as complex and wonderful as the woman.”
Her post has since been flooded with comments from women who can relate.
Aussie fitness trainer Emily Skye also recently posted two photos on Instagram of herself holding her newborn daughter, Mia.
“So many people told me I would ‘bounce right back’ after giving birth like a lot of other fit women do,” she captioned the shots.
“Well that’s definitely not the case for me! It’s only five days after I gave birth to Mia and I look about 6 or so months pregnant.”
Fellow personal trainer Tiffiny Hall also posted a photo in October of her belly three weeks after giving birth to first child Arnold.
Hilaria Baldwin also posted a photo of herself on Instagram in 2016 with a belly pouch after giving birth to her son, Leonardo.
“It is very normal to look as though you are somewhat pregnant postpartum up until four months after you give birth or even longer,” Jessica Shepherd, a gynaecologist from Dallas, tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
“It usually takes six months or more to get to the point where you can look somewhat similar to the way you did pre-pregnancy.”
A woman’s abdominal muscles can become stretched during pregnancy and those take time to go back to normal, too.
Finally, a woman’s skin becomes stretched out during pregnancy and does not immediately “bounce back,” Shepherd says.
In sum, it’s very normal to still look “pregnant” after giving birth - and even for months afterward - which is why Shepherd says this trend of showing off the postpartum body is good thing.
“It allows people to celebrate having birthed a baby and allows women to be more open about the postpartum period,” she says.
Of course, if you happen to have a bigger belly than the postpartum photos you see on social media, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with you.
“Everyone is different,” Shepherd says.
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