Mum Who Was Body-Shamed During Pregnancy Posts Powerful Instagram Post

Brittany Aäe is an endurance athlete and coach. She also recently became a mother and was surprised by the comments that were made about her figure during pregnancy. Elle reports that she took to her Instagram account last month to hit back at those who felt the need to pass judgement on her body shape, specifically her smallness. As well as posting the image below, which shows her and model Tess Holliday at around 39 weeks, she pleaded with people to stop body-shaming.

A photo posted by Brittany Aäe (@__magneticnorth__) on May 31, 2016 at 5:55pm PDT

Her caption read:

“in this image these two women are at about the same stage in their pregnancies - 39 weeks. that is the gorgeous @tessholliday looking boss on the left and me with the defined abs on the right. she is a voluptuous model and I am a sinewy mountain athlete. both of us are shamed for our size - she for her roundness and me for my smallness. both of us are having or had healthy pregnancies as validated by our healthcare providers. both of us are making empowered choices about our personal health... why does our society shame women whose bodies do not adhere to some narrow notion of false normalcy? let's instead keep our thoughts and words about other people's size to ourselves. pregnancy is tough enough without also being body shamed. #effyourbeautystandards#momshame”

The post got a positive reaction with many women praising her for speaking out and echoing her sentiment. One commented: "Such a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing! Both of you beautiful mommas ROCK!" Another wrote: "I love this!! Both so beautiful and both carrying life. I carried small as my mom did as well. It was quiet hard to constantly explain to people I was eating more than enough food and very healthy. "I had to battle some shame that would head my way. This is a great post to show that mamas varying babies come in all shapes and sizes!"

throughout pregnancy I was so scared of how my body would look and feel after pregnancy. as a mind-body athlete, my body is my sacred vehicle for gnostic movement, my only home, my treasure. I couldn't bear the thought of ringing in my big 3-0 (two weeks from now!) in a body that didn't feel like home. so, after overthinking it too much this is me two weeks before pregnancy, twenty weeks pregnant, thirty nine weeks pregnant (and actually in labor), and one week postpartum. when I was at the gym each day taking these photos I did the same workout: ten pitches in the 5.10-5.11 range followed by a run. happy to report that, in that last image, I felt STRONGER than in the first image. I am sharing not to brag, to make others feel bad about their own unique journeys, or to put any 'should's out there. I share to dispel fear other pregnant athletes might hold about their own post-pregnancy bodies. please allow these images to broaden your idea of what a 'normal' pregnant and postpartum body looks like. once again I feel at home in my body - except this body just got done blood doping for ten months while wearing a progressive weight vest. I'm coming for you, Bust tha Move! #pregnantathlete A photo posted by Brittany Aäe (@__magneticnorth__) on Jun 20, 2016 at 4:41pm PDT

  Top image via Instagram/_magneticnorth_