[Postpartum] Loving Your Body After Giving Birth

What would it look like if instead of trying to “bounce back” to our pre-pregnancy frames, we embraced the new changes: stretch marks, jiggly bellies and all? I talk with Ashlee Wells Jackson, about how she’s helping hundreds of women do just that, through the 4th Trimester Bodies Project.

What we talked about:

• How the 4th Trimester Bodies Project got started
• Your body’s not broken!
• Showing the real bodies and beauty of motherhood
• Shedding the harm inflicted by a media culture of unattainable Photoshop’ed bodies
• The transformation that happens when women share their bodies and their stories
• Not something you see every day: non-sexualized pictures of women in their underwear
• Every reason for participating is as different as the woman behind it
• Honoring your story by honoring your body
• How to be a part of the 4th Trimester Bodies Project
• Evolving into a Postpartum Support foundation

Links for more on postpartum bodies and ‘taking back postpartum’:

• 4th Trimester Bodies Project
• The power behind the #takebackpostpartum hashtag, spearheaded by January Harsh of Birth Without Fear.
• And because sometimes you just need a good laugh, even if it’s to laugh at yourself, here’s Scary Mommy’s take on Postpartum Bodies

Courtesy of Ashlee Wells Jackson

About Ashlee Wells Jackson

Ashlee Wells Jackson is a light chaser, photographer, and writer currently calling sweet Chicago home. She lives with her husband, Jeremy; son, Xavier; and surviving identical twin daughter, Nova. She is the owner of Windy City Pin Up, Ashlee Wells Jackson Photography and video producer for Jackson Media. She has presently shifted gears to focus full time on 4th Trimester Bodies Project with her partner Laura Weetzie Wilson through ongoing travel shoots, body positivity talks, and gallery shows.

Learn more at 4thtrimesterbodies.com or follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.