BookmarkBookmarkTickBookmarkAddCheckBoxFilledCheckBoxCircleBumpCheckedFilledMedical

This Mom's Postbaby Body Message Puts Insecurities in Perspective

These marks were hard-earned.
save article
profile picture of Anisa Arsenault
By Anisa Arsenault, Associate Editor
Published March 5, 2018

“I never imagined my body would look the way it does now.”

While that sentiment holds true for many moms, for Desiree Fortin, giving birth to triplets exacerbated all the changes her body endured. The mom blogger and photographer has been documenting her postbaby body (and her adorable kids, of course) for the past two and a half years. And while she admits her mom body feels hard to love some days, one quote, in particular, helps her regain a sense of perspective.

“For every woman unhappy with her postpartum marks there is one wishing she had them.”

She shared a letterboard of the quote on her Instagram.

“I once was her, the ‘one,’ waiting, wishing, hoping to be a mother,” Fortin writes in the caption. PCOS sent her on a three-year road to getting pregnant, which she ultimately was able to do with the help of IVF. “Finding out I was finally going to be a mom was one most incredible feelings. And it didn’t matter that my body was going to change drastically.”

To remind herself of that mindset, Fortin doesn’t refer to her postpartum marks as stretch marks, sags or wrinkles. Instead, she called them “hope wounds.”

“Our postpartum marks are stories of hope, stories of love, and sometimes stories of loss,” she says. “There is so much beauty in our mom bodies because above all they represent life, our children, and the undeniable love we have for them. For the ‘one’ somewhere wishing, hoping, praying for her miracle, this is for you.”

Another thing that keeps things in perspective for Fortin? Something she misses even more than her pre-baby body.

Image: Desiree Fortin
save article
Article removed.
Name added. View Your List
ADVERTISEMENT

Next on Your Reading List

9 Hardest Things About Being a New Mom
9 Hardest Things About Being a New Mom
By Lissa Harnish Poirot
serena williams holding newborn baby with husband and daughter
Serena Williams Celebrates Her Postpartum Body in Powerful Post
By Wyndi Kappes
woman showing her hair thinning around her temples
What to Do for Postpartum Hair Loss
Medically Reviewed by Kendra Segura, MD
ADVERTISEMENT
close up of mother holding baby
9 Ways Motherhood Biologically Changes You
Medically Reviewed by Kendra Segura, MD
woman putting on postpartum belly wrap in bathroom at home
8 Best Postpartum Belly Wraps for Recovery, According to New Moms
Medically Reviewed by Kendra Segura, MD
jessie j postpartum body image
Jessie J Doesn’t Want Her Pre-Baby Body Back, She Wants to Go Forward
By Wyndi Kappes
chrissy teigen and her baby
Chrissy Teigen Captures Candid Postpartum Bath Image With Baby Esti
By Wyndi Kappes
ADVERTISEMENT
baby next to mom's belly with stretch marks
Can You Get Rid of Stretch Marks After Pregnancy?
By Rose Walano
mother holding baby showing post-baby body
How to Love Your Postpartum Body
By Kaitlin Stanford
Ashley Graham attends The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp
Ashley Graham Tells Moms It’s Okay if You Don’t Ever ‘Bounce Back’
By Wyndi Kappes
ADVERTISEMENT
Hilary Duff on the Kelly Clarkson Show in February 2022
Hilary Duff Shares Her Journey to Loving Her Body After Three Kids
By Nehal Aggarwal
close up of new mother holding baby at home showing postpartum belly
What Your Postpartum Belly May Look and Feel Like After Birth
By Ashley Zielger
Singer Halsey gives birth to newborn baby.
Halsey Gets Real About Accepting and Loving Their Postpartum Body
By Lauren Barth
ADVERTISEMENT
Actress Aja Naomi King.
Actress Aja Naomi King Celebrates Her Post Baby Body With Unedited Photos
By Nehal Aggarwal
pregnant woman lying on back in bed
Diastasis Recti: How to Fix Ab Separation After Pregnancy
By Yelena Moroz Alpert
hands holding heart shape
How I Lost the Baby Weight and Learned to Love My Postbaby Body
By Paula Miranda
woman stretching and getting ready to do postpartum exercises
10 Best Postpartum Workout Moves for New Moms
By Lindsay Dolak
ADVERTISEMENT
personality and influencer Ashley Graham
Ashley Graham Celebrates Her Postpartum Body With Nude Photoshoot
By Nehal Aggarwal
Ashley Graham and her husband Justin Ervin outside their house
Ashley Graham Proudly Shows Off Stretch Marks in New Swimsuit Campaign
By Nehal Aggarwal
woman stretching and getting ready to do postpartum exercises
10 Best Postpartum Workout Moves for New Moms
By Lindsay Dolak
ADVERTISEMENT
Article removed.