A mum has organised a “calendar girls” style charity shoot to promote body positivity and show the true beauty of motherhood, stretch marks and all.
Rachael Rudgewick, 24, from Essex, who is mum to four-year-old Nico and one-year-old Aleisha, wants women to feel proud of their “wobbly bits” and show that their bodies are still beautiful after childbirth.
Rudgewick will use the calendar to raise money for baby loss charity, Sands, as she has friends who have been through stillbirth and neonatal deaths.
She was inspired to do the charity shoot after having a dream about it.
“I dreamt that me and my close friend Beccy, who is a photographer, put together a calendar of women,” she told HuffPost UK.
“I have always had problems with my body confidence since having two children and putting on three and a half stone for both pregnancies.”
Rudgewick continued: “I thought to myself: ‘Why do women put themselves through all the stress and depression of worrying about weight and scars and stretch marks?’
“All we should be thinking about is where these marks and wobbly bits have come from and what the end result was: our children.
“Our bodies are precious. They are amazing. Women need to celebrate this.”
Rudgewick posted an appeal on Facebook to find other mums of different shapes, sizes, ages and races who would be keen to take part.
She managed to find 12 who were willing to be photographed by her friend Beccy (BeccyPphotography).
They will be shooting the calendar on 5 August and are currently looking for donations and sponsors to help get the calendars printed. Rudgewick hopes the calendar will be available to buy at the end of September 2017.
All the money raised for the calendars will go direct to Sands.
To donate visit Rudgewick’s JustGiving page and to find out more, you can visit her Facebook page.
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