Mother Of Three Shares Post Baby Photos To Encourage Other Moms To Accept Their Bodies

To encourage mothers around the world to be comfortable with their post baby bodies, a mother of three Sophia Cooper posted a post-baby selfie revealing belly stretch marks.

 The Daily Mail reports:

After seeing countless bikini photographs of celebrity mothers snapping back into shape after the birth of their children, Sophia decided to show the world what ‘real’ parents look like post-pregnancy.

The 29-year-old posted a revealing selfie on her Facebook page, wearing just a tight grey crop top, to show off her ‘wobbly’ belly, stretch marks and muffin top. The workout-loving activist, from Kings Norton in Birmingham, admitted it was ‘hard’ to share the warts-and-all picture, not least because she runs a post-natal fitness company.

Gym bunny Sophia gained three stone before her third child, six-week-old daughter, Florence, was born. Protesting against Hollywood-style images of beach-body-ready new mothers, she said: ‘It’s hard publicly sharing this picture because, as the founder of a post-natal fitness company, most people expect me to have left the maternity ward with a baby and a six-pack.

 The reality is, despite exercising during pregnancy and trying to eat healthy, I gained three stone. I have fresh stretch marks, a  muffin top and I’m three dress sizes bigger.

 Some of my shoes still don’t fit, but you know what?? IT’S OK!! This is what a real post-baby body looks like.

 The exposed image of Sophia, who is married to 37-year-old husband Chris, instantly struck a chord with women across the world, clocking up hundreds of likes and shares as far away as Australia. Oh my God, my wobbly bits have gone viral!’ she joked. I really didn’t expect this and I’m still really surprised, I don’t think I’m brave to do it, fighting wars is brave!’

 Health conscious Sophia runs exercise classes for mothers called One Fit Mama UK and also has two sons, Finlay, six, and four-year-old son Maxwell.

 She gained seven stone while she was pregnant with Maxwell and, unable to find a baby-friendly exercise class to combat her post-natal depression, decided to set up her own.

 She added: If you’ve had a baby and have got a normal life it’s impossible to suddenly be on a low-calorie diet and exercising 12 hours a week. It’s so easy to think that that’s the norm. ‘Being healthy doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re back in your skinny jeans.’

Our thoughts: Just because some women don’t have stretch marks or wobbly skin after birth doesn’t make their struggles any less real. While we applaud Sophia for trying to encourage other mums struggling to accept their post-baby bodies, we also admire moms who condition their bodies enabling them to bounce back after birth.