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Nude photos reveal what women REALLY look like after giving birth

  • Pictures taken by photographer Jade Beall show women as they really are
  • Campaign to combat pressure on women to have the perfect body
  • Posed by volunteers who say they found the photographs empowering

By
Sarah Bridge


Published:

04:22 EST, 29 April 2014

|
Updated:

11:33 EST, 29 April 2014

Posing naked during or after pregnancy is often the last thing that some women feel like doing, but for others it can be both empowering and emotional.

Now a new book reveals the truth about women’s bodies after they have had children, complete with stunning photos and wise words from the mothers featured, all of whom explain how they learned to love their changing physique.

And it certainly doesn’t pull any punches. Stretchmarks, saggy tummies and loose skin all feature in A Beautiful Body Project: The Bodies of Mothers by US photographer Jade Beall.

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New book The Bodies of Mothers contains moving pictures of women after they have given birth

According to experts, birth has a huge impact on a woman’s body and many feel their bodies are no longer the same afterwards.

But many of the women in Beall’s fascinating book say that having their photograph taken helped them to reconnect with their bodies and overcome any negative thoughts about their perceived imperfections.

Accompanying the photographs of 80 women
who volunteered to be photographed nude or semi-nude are their stories of how giving
birth changed them.

Some said that they initially found their new bodies with their stretch marks and loose skin ‘repulsive’ but after time, came to appreciate their strength and beauty.

One of Beall’s subjects Kasthuri. Her first child was born via a C-section after complications during birth

Photographer Jade Beall says she specialises in truthful images of women to counteract the culture of airbrushing

Beall, who lives in Arizona, says she suffered from poor self-image all of her
life, but that it was only after she become pregnant that she began to love her body.

After giving birth she once again fell into a trough of self-loathing and became obsessed with losing weight.

But when she posted a nude self-portrait online that showed her breast-feeding her baby son it went viral and was shared around the world. 

Thanks to the huge media interest in her
project, Beall then decided to create a series of photos showing ‘real’ and inspiring
women of all different ages, shapes and sizes, saying that she hoped to
inspire future generations of woman to embrace their beauty just as they
are.  

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    Comments (108)

    what you think

    The comments below have been moderated in advance.

    james shay,

    london,

    35 minutes ago

    Re-defining beauty. HMMM, beauty is temporary, women will always look better in their prime. if age catches up with you there is no need to feel depressed, and to go as far as re-defining beauty.

    You don’t see men re-defining beauty when it comes to mens favoured attributes, eg muscles. Men know its hard to gain muscles, men also know that once they’ve passed their prime one must embrace the extra weight and make it part of their identity instead of wallowing in self pity.

    Anon,

    Somewhere, United States,

    37 minutes ago

    Some of these posts seem of be complaining about the glorification of “sloppy people” and people who “ate too much” during their pregnancy and yet they wonder why pictures like these can be so empowering to those of us with less than perfect bodies? I’ve never been overweight a day in my life but my stomach after having twins, repulses me. So if you’re back to being perfect after pregnancy, yay you. The rest of us need a little encouragement occasionally and these photos are beautiful.

    The Great Wazoo,

    London, United Kingdom,

    39 minutes ago

    All beautiful. All amazing. Gail – your picture is wonderful. You can see what you have gone through and how brave you’ve been. Still with a smile coming out.

    Fionassa,

    hk, Hong Kong,

    40 minutes ago

    The pictures are showing plenty of pure love!

    Jon,

    Cheyenne Wy, United States,

    44 minutes ago

    I love my curvy wife! Every inch!!

    Honeymonster,

    Copenhagen, Denmark,

    46 minutes ago

    My second son is due in october. I have a 3,5 year old son, i gave birth to him when i was 19, and i have a lot of stretchmarks. I fear that it will get even worse after this pregnancy. But i have fully accepted them, the only problem i have is what other people think. Yes, it doesn’t really matter what other people think, but i am only 23 years old, and it sucks that the skin on my stomach is ruined, because that’s what it is to me.. But soon i’ll have two beautiful boys, and they are worth every single stretchmark.. Luckily you can get all sorts of lovely bathingsuits these days. Can’t wait for summer ¿¿

    BARSAN,

    Aristomenis Messinias, Greece,

    46 minutes ago

    Great, Black and White photos I do love Black and White photos, loved taken them and love looking at them, but this is life as it is, no frills, no models and not done by models, love them all.
    Just Great.

    Smartypants83,

    Overtherrainbow, United Kingdom,

    49 minutes ago

    Not nice to look at…..

    r morgan,

    derby, United Kingdom,

    49 minutes ago

    I’ve been with my wife and best friend for over 50 years and she has only improved with age. To my eyes she looks only a little bit different to when we first met, in fact she is even more attractive to me. So dump all this make up and stupid make up products as true beauty is on the inside and not in a bottle.

    ilikepie,

    Philly, United States,

    1 hour ago

    Things like this are needed as society becomes less used to a real womans body. Celebrities with incredible bodies are now being photoshopped to look thinner, larger in the breasts and hips, limbs lengthened,ect. It’s sad when were at a point people are grossed out by a normal females naked body. And of course women don’t zap right back to a toned firm body right after childbirth.

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