Just two days ago, Hilaria Baldwin was giving birth to her third child, Leonardo Angel Charles.
Determined to show the reality of post-pregnancy life, the 32 year old shared a photo of her body 24 hours after giving birth to show that washboard abs are not the norm in any way.
“I took this yesterday when Leonardo was about 24 hours. I did the same thing right after Rafael was born,” she captioned the picture on Instagram.
“It always makes me a bit nervous to do something like this, but I feel that in the age of such strong body shaming, I want to do all that I can to normalise a real body and promote healthy self-esteem,” she continued.
“Many of you know that I love to show the process of life’s experiences on the body and I am a firm believer in how a good diet and the right balance of exercise make us happy, healthy, and strong.”
There’s no super flat stomach, posing or hiding – just a picture of a body that’s just done an exhausting and amazing thing.
For the picture that was taken in the hospital room bathroom, Baldwin “briefly” removed her pads (to collect any blood) “as there is a limit to how much you need to see”.
“Oh, and no filter. Just brightened it up a bit,” she wrote.
She said she would continue to share daily posts charting her efforts to “getting back into shape” under the hashtag #366daysoflivingclearly.
Her followers were quick to praise her decision to share the photo.
“SO beautiful! I love how you share what’s real in a world where everything about women is criticised; ‘too fat’, ‘too skinny’, etc. Thank you for sharing!!” wrote one commentor, while another added:
“When I saw this headline on I thought it was going to be of you slim and no belly. Thanks for being real!!” (Post continues after gallery.)
The Baldwin family album.
However not everyone felt the same.
“Normalising what? I know that after each one of my four babies I certainly did not look like that after 24 hours. It’s so unrealistic,” wrote one follower.
“And it would be a freakin miracle if my bra and underwear matched on a good day, never mind 24 hours postpartum. Perhaps instead of focusing on getting back into shape, she should focus on her newborn son and being a mum.”
Personal opinions aside, if Baldwin’s decision to candidly share her ‘normal’ – whatever that means – helps one new mother realise there’s no one way a ‘post-baby body’ should look, then it’s worth it.
Image: Insatgram/@hilariabaldwin.
Top Comments
This is ridiculous. Clearly she knows she looks incredible after delivering. I fail to see how this has anything to do with body shaming, but is really an excuse to flaunt the fact she is genetically blessed and can afford a nanny for each baby so she can workout a few hours a day. I'm not shaming her body, but I do shame her attitude - her fake sentiment to draw attention to herself is really transparent.
I hate the word "normal" in this regard. With one of my kids I had a flat stomach straight after, but the other I still looked 5 months pregnant. I didn't feel normal/abnormal with either...