A mother’s postpartum photo showing the beauty of motherhood has taken the Internet by storm and is inspiring thousands of mothers.
Erica Andrews, a mother-of-five, shared a candid selfie of her body just 24 hours after giving birth to her youngest son Silas Ambrose Osler on January 8 during a water birth in their home. The midwife from Zanesville, Ohio can be seen wearing nothing but an adult diaper and a baby sling with her newborn in it.
Andrews initially shared her selfie on Instagram but after getting numerous praises, she decided to post her black and white selfie on sling company Sakura Bloom’s Facebook page. As of this writing, the photo has amassed almost 150,000 likes and 40,000 shares since it was posted on January 20.
She wrote: “This is what 24 hours postpartum looks like ‘Baby in sling. Skin to skin. Adult diapers. And a rosy glow. My body feels like it ran a marathon and my heart is wide open from yesterday’s travels.”
“Birth opens us like an earthquake opens the earth and I am still in the intimate, fragile throes of that opening,” she added. “I feel raw. Emotional. Different. I feel like I’m on the undulating surface of the rippling ocean being tossed back and forth between happiness, gratitude, melancholy, and grief.”
Her honest and eye-opening post has inspired thousands of moms all over the world with many commending Andrews’ courage to show her postpartum body to the public.
What is Water Birth?
According to WebMD, water birth is when at least part of your labor, delivery or both occur while you’re in a birth pool filled with warm water. This usually takes place at home, in a birthing center or at a hospital with a midwife, a nurse-midwife, or a doctor assisting you.