When Jillian Michael said last week that she wouldn’t let pregnancy ruin her body — a statement most likely taken out of context — she made a lot of people mad.  But others agreed with her, saying that even though they wouldn’t trade their kid for any of it, their bodies were just different after pregnancy.

BabyCenter is hoping to help women embrace the changes that time and, yes, pregnancy have on our bodies with a new gallery of post-baby breasts, a follow-up to their post-baby bellies feature.   No faces, no names, no legally identifiable information — just an anonymous picture of your real-life, non-Photoshopped chest in a picture.  Would you do it?

Amy Graff at The Mommy Files says that she just might, and she points out that in today’s bare-all and share-all world, adding your own picture to a gallery like this one isn’t really a big deal.  Writes Graff:

An online slide show featuring post-pregnancy boobs should come as no surprise in this day and age when moms are posting videos of their childbirths on YouTube. Women freely share their most intimate experiences in an attempt to demystify motherhood and connect with other moms.

But as more moms hand over their innermost selves through Facebook and Twitter (“I’m 10 centimeters…the head is coming out…”), some are starting to question whether women are sharing too much information?

It reminds me of the blog The Shape of a Mother, which was started up a few years back by a California woman named Bonnie in 2006 to help women become more accepting of their bodies.  On her website, Bonnie writes:

It occurred to me that a post-pregnancy body is one of this society’s greatest secrets; all we see of the female body is that which is airbrushed and perfect, and if we look any different, we hide it from the light of day in fear of being seen. That makes me want to cry. Sure we all talk about the sagging boobs and other parts, but no one ever sees them. Or if they do, it’s in comical form, mocking the beauty that created and nourished our children.

But BabyCenter readers aren’t all sure that they’re ready to bare all. Here’s a sampling of a few of the comments following their announcement:

Nude? Or in a bra……..they mean nude don’t they? — LRWO8

Are you atleast going to take me out to dinner first? — Liv9404

This is taking it way too far, even if it’s from Baby Center. No, I’ll pass on that, and have no need to look at other women’s nude body parts to feel better about mine either. — vitalina

The outcry got so loud, in fact, that BabyCenter editors chimed in, reassuring readers that the request was legitimate and explaining why it was so important to them:

And while I understand this slide show won’t be for everyone, if you’ve read through the threads that got so much response, you, also, saw the posts where moms referred to their breasts as “hideous” and “saggy”. You saw the posts where they said, “No one would want to see mine.” And you could feel the shame and disrespect some women had for their incredible bodies that produced their wonderful children. And that, ladies, is exactly why moving forward with the post-baby breasts slide show is so important to us.

So tell us, Strollerderby readers: Would you consider posting your post-baby breasts online, anonymously, of course, to help other women feel better about their own?

Photo:  christyscherrer, Flickr

Tweet

4

Pin It

Go Back To Strollerderby

4 Comments

Add your take:

Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.