Body Image. Two words that can hit a sensitive nerve in many women ” particularly post-birth.

You see ” our body does change after we birth our babies. It takes on average 38-42 weeks for our body to put on the weight and stretch and bend for our babies ” and it will take some time for our body to go back to its pre-birth weight.

And something that I have found, after having 3 babies within 4 years, is that although my body has returned to its pre-baby weight ” the shape of my body, and skin tone in places, has changed. And… I’m proud of it!

Our bodies are amazing temples, and they have sustained the life of our babies. Instead of self-loathing and shame, shouldn’t we be thanking our bodies for the wonderful job done?

Jade Beall, a photographer in the States, is on a crusade to show mothers as they really look, imperfect but no less beautiful for what society might consider their physical “flaws.” She is creating a book called “A Beautiful Body”, which includes images and written accounts of mother’s journeys from self-doubt to body confidence.

For a glimpse into the experience on the other side of Beall’s camera, yoga therapist Michelle Marks wrote:

I had exposed myself to Jade – not just my flesh, and typically hidden parts, but the angles, and lines and aspects of me that came with being a mother. The exposure called to light remembrances of how my body changed shape over two different pregnancies, and two births, and the stories that my body has stored from the act of surrender to motherhood and the unexpected life that has become mine since taking the leap of faith into motherhood.

Click here see some of the beautiful images captured and read more about this project.