Pregnancy is a remarkable journey filled with incredible changes to a woman’s body. While these changes are a testament to the beauty of motherhood, they can also sometimes be challenging to embrace. Learning to love your body, both pre- and post-partum, isn’t always easy, but one mother is sharing her maternity photoshoot to encourage mothers everywhere.
Christina Abiola recently shared images from her maternity photoshoot on Instagram. The photos feature Abiola, who postponed the shoot until she was 38 weeks pregnant, posing with her husband.
“Insecurity is a dangerous thing. I believe it restrains us from fulfilling our full potential. When it came down to shooting my maternity photos, I was truly afraid. So afraid I delayed it to 38 weeks pregnant!” she wrote in the caption of the post. “I’ve been struggling with embracing my marks because I felt like I was the only one who’s experienced such an extreme amount. My entire belly was covered, and I felt like I was doing something wrong. [Now] I like to call my marks beauty marks! Because my marks represent the beautiful life I brought to the world! I honestly would do it all over again for her.”
Initially, Abiola wanted her stretch marks edited out of the photos. However, when she finally did the shoot, her photographer told her that editing the stretch marks out of the photos would be impossible. So what did Abiola do? She let go of her self-consciousness and shared the photos shortly after giving birth to her daughter on October 24.
“I wanted to do a maternity shoot, but I was feeling insecure because I was growing all these stretch marks, and I’ve never really had stretch marks before,” Abiola told TODAY Parents. “I just kept delaying.”
Christina Abiola’s empowering decision to embrace her body and proudly display her stretch marks in her maternity photoshoot serves as a powerful reminder of the beauty and strength of motherhood. It encourages mothers everywhere to celebrate their own unique journeys and the incredible transformations that come with bringing life into the world.
