Moms proudly show off their postpartum bodies

CNN — Meg Boggs is on a mission to redefine the public perception of a woman’s postpartum body. It began during pregnancy, “I would see pictures of a perfect bump and I didn’t relate to that because I definitely did not have a perfect bump.” Boggs would search for images she could relate to online but found none, which was isolating, “I felt as if my postpartum journey and body didn’t count.” Meg Boggs wants postpartum women of all shapes and sizes to be represented on social media @meg.boggs In an attempt to connect with similar women, she started to blog on MegBoggs.com, posted her very first postpartum photo on Instagram and braced for how the internet might react. Desiree @theperfectmom Aseky @asekyb Bethanie @thegarciadiaries Katie @katiemcrenshaw Meg @meg.boggs Meghan @meghanjoytoday Ashley @ashley_dorough/@naomihopkinsphoto Tanis @tanismitchell Aaronica @thecrunchymommy Katie @kbriwilliams Sarah @thebirdspapaya Anupa @denupzter Britt @britt_horton Taylor @taydools Casey @caseyzaruba Heydy @heydylopez Brittany @sidelinesocialite @cbchatman Emily @chasingmcallisters Natasha @natashaburnsbrown Molly @stillbeingmolly @knowingtracy #This_is_postpartum Prev Next ‘It was OK to need a little help’ One of the women Boggs joined forces with was Ashley Dorough, of houseofdorough.com. She calls them her “hope wounds” because they represent “things that I prayed for and longed for.” Fortin shares her body before and after carrying and giving birth to triplets @theperfectmom Even though some of the reaction to these photos has been critical, Fortin remains focused on the reason she’s doing this in the first place, to empower women to love themselves and share their stories, “It’s like a connection is made because you’re being vulnerable. Garcia heard from women that had never told anyone other than their partners, “The response helped me feel a lot less alone.” ‘It’s those messages that remind me that it’s worth it’ For Meg Boggs and these 25 women, the only way to normalize postpartum experiences is to be transparent, raw and continue the conversation.