This Is What Women Really Look Like After Giving Birth

We are lucky to be living in an age where the body positive movement is a thing. But there is still a lot of work to be done and consciousness to be raised.

Enter The 4th Trimester Bodies Project (scroll down for photos!), a documentary photo project "dedicated to embracing the beauty inherent in the changes brought to our bodies by motherhood, childbirth and breast-feeding." The project is at the forefront of a relatively untapped area of the body positive movement. Co-founders Ashlee Wells Jackson and Laura Weetzie Wilson seek to subvert the notion that mothers need to "fix" their bodies post-pregnancy, especially given all of the new pressures of having to "do a mother's number one job — keeping your children alive."

Longtime photographer Jackson is a mother of three: 7-year-old Xavier and twin daughters Nova (15 months) and Aurora, who was stillborn as a result of complications from Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Through her own pregnancies, and having both given birth prematurely and carried a child who died, Jackson felt compelled to start the project to "fight back against the media standard and create an environment for mothers that was one of empowerment, body positivity, acceptance and self-love."

The project began one day when Jackson found herself crying in the shower, feeling broken and looking at her scarred stomach (which she described as "monstrous"). To reclaim her power, she decided to take a photo of herself with her daughter Nova, and proceeded to ask others to join her own "journey to create a conversation about women's bodies, our beauty, and accepting the changes we want to hide."

We cannot continue to ask new mothers how long it took them to fit back into their pre-pregnancy jeans. We need to change the conversation: "We need to address the fact that our bodies change when we carry a baby," explained Jackson, "Hips widen. Skin stretches. Things don't always go back to the way they were before."

Above all, we need to stop focusing on bodies so much to begin with, and on the stereotypes surrounding them. Little girls are taught to be pretty — "but they can also be taught to be strong and smart," remarked Jackson. Similarly, "Boys don't have to be brave and strong."

So let's start the process of educating ourselves by letting our bodies, all sorts of bodies, be seen.

This self-portrait of Jackson was the inaugural image of the 4th Trimester Bodies Project.

In this photo, Talev is also 36 weeks pregnant with baby number two.

Gagnon told 4th Trimester Bodies Project that she was surprised to find she was most comfortable with her body during pregnancy! Right on.

Yablonskaya is committed to continuing to cultivate a positive body image for herself, and to create a body positive environment for her sons.

Wirthlin told 4th Trimester Bodies that while she's always struggled with body image issues, she never felt more beautiful than during pregnancy.

Sharabaika experienced a healthy pregnancy but struggled with breast-feeding issues upon giving birth to her daughter. She was able to work through the issues, however, and had a wonderful breastfeeding relationship with her daughter.

Erb relishes every second of motherhood, even if there are moments when she "wants to pull out her hair." She wanted to participate in the 4th Trimester Bodies project to celebrate the confidence she's developed during recent years of being a mother.

Ceremy-St.Fleur told 4th Trimester Bodies Project that the location of birth doesn't matter; birth is simply a power within you as a woman. She believes motherhood is largely about letting go of expectations and embracing each moment as it comes.

Sally is a mother to eight; Sarah-Jane is mother to Harrison and Miller and Jessica is mother to Beau.