A mum who documented her pregnancy journey with triplets through a photo diary has posted a snap of her body four weeks after giving birth.
Maria Jorstad, originally from Norway, gave birth to two girls and a boy with her Danish husband, Anders, and gained more than 63,000 followers for detailing her journey via the Instagram account @triplets_of_copenhagen, as well as speaking to HuffPost UK about her pregnancy.
Writing about her postpartum body, Jorstad said: “I still have a weird looking hanging belly, and I am a bit surprised it has not gotten smaller since my last picture three weeks ago. Kind of disappointing I must admit, and I am not too happy to share this picture.”
She went on to write about the positives: her c-section scar no longer hurts and she said she’s finally starting to feel herself again.
Jorstad says she feels it is important to share these pictures to normalise the postpartum body. “I chose to give an honest picture on my Instagram account on how it was to be pregnant with triplets and want to continue down that path now that I am a mother to three infants,” she tells HuffPost UK.
“Since I shared weekly belly pictures while expecting, I thought it would be natural to show my followers what my belly looked like afterwards.”
She believes women don’t share much about how their bodies feel and look like after giving birth and it’s become a taboo like many other female issues. “I want that to change,” she adds. “We should be open and share with each other, so that women don’t sit at home feeling abnormal and ashamed.”
Jorstad has received encouraging comments from other mums on her post, some who have also given birth to triplets. “You go girl! Believe me when I tell you it gets better. Our triplets are two years old now, and the biggest part [of my belly] is gone. Still trying to accept and embrace it, but I could never imagine it could look as nice as it is now.”
Another wrote: “It takes time for the skin and muscles to go back where they were. Enjoy your babies because in six to eight months, your body will change. The female body is amazing, and remember you look great and you birthed three incredible babies!”
Many also called her an “inspiration” for showing the honest reality of post-baby bodies. Jorstad previously shared a photo of her body just one week after giving birth to her three babies.
At the time she wrote: “My uterus has not shrunk back yet. Because my belly was so stretched it takes longer than usual.
“I’m going to get a belly band/support binder asap, because it’s quite annoying and the sagging makes my c-section scar hurts. I’m really impatient to get my body back!”
Previously speaking to HuffPost UK, the mum said she had never thought of the possibility of having triplets, so it was a surreal moment when they found out.
“I started crying immediately thinking about everything at once, while Anders’ first thoughts were about getting a bigger apartment and car,” she said. “The rest of the session I both laughed and cried, laughed and cried. It was very emotional to see three healthy babies kicking around on the screen.”
During the pregnancy, she said her back and belly pains have been straining, but she’s been lucky not to have any serious complications and was able to carry them until 35 weeks.