14 DAY TRIAL // Though experts say it takes about a year to bounce back into shape after pregnancy, celebrities are famous for doing it in as little as a few weeks, or months at most. One group of mommy bloggers is taking action against this worrying trend by showing women how post-pregnancy bodies actually look like.
They're called CT Working Moms and describe themselves as “an online community for women balancing work & family.”
Because of the pressure women are under to always look their best – some of which comes from themselves –, which reaches climax after giving birth, these moms came up with an idea meant to help them have more self confidence.
They organized what they like to call “a Goddess gathering,” to which they came equipped with sports bras and casual pants, some food and lots of wine.
They also brought along a photographer and, once they mustered enough courage, they showed off their bodies, the bodies of real women, to the camera.
The photos were then gathered in a Goddess gallery, which you too can see here.
“A while back someone mentioned they were scared to click on a link to 'Beyonce’s Body After Baby.' I think we all know what these headlines bring,” Dena writes on the website.
“ All you have to do is do a simple Google search for 'body after baby' and you see these celebrities with their impossible-to-attain-their-normal-size-nevermind-their-post-preggo-size photo spread in the latest gossip mag,” she adds.
For celebrities, it's ok, nay, to be expected to bounce back into shape shortly after giving birth, because their livelihood depends on their looks.
For regular women, though, it's a bit harder to juggle motherhood, a career and a strict diet and workout routine to shed the excess weight in record time.
“Now don’t get me wrong, those women probably worked really hard to take the baby weight off and more power to them, but we average non-Victoria Secrets models do not have the luxury of Photoshop, airbrushing, personal trainers, private chefs, nannies, or several pairs of Spanx,” Dena writes.
What regular women do have is the power to look at themselves for what they are – and to learn to love themselves for what they are, which is precisely what happened to these Goddesses.
“This turned out to be more than just a photo-shoot to show what real mommy bellies look like or to help us embrace our body image differences – there are a ton of websites out there that already do this,” Dena says.
“[At the end of it,] I didn’t feel depressed, I felt the energy of the night. I felt the joy, love and sisterhood of that moment and again felt beautiful,” she adds.