It’s 2024, which means that, luckily, we’re a long way from the days of tabloids gawking at celebrity moms’ postpartum bodies and breathlessly tracking their weight loss and gain like sports scores. We’ve learned to give moms in (and out of) the spotlight a little more breathing room after giving birth — because it’s totally fine if your first priority after literally bringing human life into the world is not to immediately lose the “baby weight.” Your body is doing a lot during and after pregnancy, and the least we can do is respect that a) it needs time to heal, and b) that it might never be the same as it was before pregnancy, which is totally OK.
But even though times have changed, many people still feel pressure to achieve the postpartum “bounce-back.” Even celebrity moms, who have all the resources, gyms, trainers, makeup artists, and stylists at their disposal to help them look good, are no strangers to experiencing body issues, especially after having a baby. And we appreciate it when they open up about that, because nobody and no body is, has been, or ever will be perfect. So forget the glossy pics and listen to what these famous moms have to say about their postpartum bodies, from frustration and insecurity to gratitude and wonder.
A version of this article was originally published in September 2016.