Boundary-breaking model Ashley Graham never misses an opportunity to share behind the scenes images that show her followers the flaws models have too that we hardly ever get to see in the final shot. This time, the outspoken body positive activist and Pretty Big Deal podcast host is sharing a bikini pic that showcases the stretch marks on her stomach that she earned when she welcoming her first child in January.
Earlier this year, just four weeks after giving birth to baby Isaac, Graham made headlines by sharing selfies of her post-partum body and images of her breast-feeding in public. Now, while shooting a swimsuit campaign in the backyard with her husband Justin Ervin, she got candid again by revealing her tiger stripes in a low cut bikini. “We’ve had such a great time making the most of this summer in Nebraska and these suits have me feeling great for my fist summer as a mommy!,” wrote the glowing model.
Stretch marks are caused by small tears in the skin’s tissue as it gets pulled tighter during pregnancy. They usually form on areas like the stomach, butt, thighs, hips or breasts anywhere from weeks 13 to 21 of pregnancy. While retinoid creams, lasers and light therapies may help minimize their appearance, there is no treatment that can completely eliminate, or erase them—so we might as well accept them.
It’s refreshing to see a celebrity not only embrace the unavoidable changes that happen to our bodies when we have children, but also celebrate them and show them off. We like this kind of post-baby body reveal more than the days of magazine covers displaying celebrities achieving the impossible feat of getting their pre-baby body back in a matter of weeks. We applaud Graham for sharing what bouncing back really looks like.
