New mum busts the biggest myth about post-birth bellies

If TV shows and tabloid magazine covers were your only point of reference, you’d be forgiven for thinking a pregnant woman’s body snaps right back to its previous shape roughly three seconds after she gives birth.

Yet the reality of how postpartum bodies look is usually very different - and one Instagram user is determined to help her fellow new mums appreciate this.

Posting as @AForeverlyLove, the mum of two has been sharing photos of her body in the weeks since she welcomed her son Forden.

The first, taken one week after Forden’s arrival, shows Courtney standing in the mirror with her stomach bared - still protruding, as most women’s stomachs do after birth. 

Courtney says she intends to breastfeed and stay as active as she can until her doctor gives her the all clear to exercise at her six week post-birth appointment.

However, she knows it’ll take time before her new body shape changes and she feels more like her pre-pregnancy self.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, and definitely not in a week either,” she tells her almost 16,000 followers.

“For now I’ll just remind myself to be kind about my body and all the hard work it did to grow not only our sweet girl two years ago, but also our … baby boy a little over a week ago.

“You did good, body, you did good.”

The post received more than 15,000 likes and hundreds of comments from mums thanking Courtney for her

In another post overnight, the proud mum noted her stomach was starting to change and her bellybutton “making its trip back inside its cave”.

“After some research I learned that in a week, your uterus still weighs a little over a pound – half of what it weighed just after you gave birth,” she writes. 

“After two weeks, it's down to a mere 11 ounces and located entirely within your pelvis. 

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