Woman posts naked breastfeeding photo to remind mothers 'nobody looks perfect'

Giving birth is an amazing thing for your body to do

(Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

There is a lot of pressure on new mothers to make their bodies immediately spring back to their post-pregnancy shapes.

With a lot of help - both with their bodies and their babies - celebrities often seem to get back in shape unfeasibly quickly. But for the majority of normal mums, this just isn’t possible.

And one mother has just shared a picture of her breastfeeding her baby in the bath in a bid to encourage others to celebrate their bodies.

(Mercury Press and Media Ltd (Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

The image shows 26-year-old Emmy Waller, a mother of four, lying in a bath and cradling her 12-week-old baby Alice as she breastfeeds.

Her photo comes after Leicester City footballer Jamie Vardy’s wife Rebekah had a photoshoot to hit back at trolls who’d criticised her figure after giving birth.

Waller, a microbiologist from Leeds, Yorkshire, said: “Of course the thing about the photo is that I thought I looked awful with stretch marks and a big belly, but people have been coming to me saying it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen.

“Now I don't care what my body looks like - it's made my baby and the result of that is I have a saggy belly.

“I only had my baby 12 weeks ago. Women's bodies are strong and powerful, but I'm no superwoman. It's just something natural and this is how I look and I've inspired other women to feel amazing too.

“Many others have posted their own breastfeeding pictures on social media as well. Nobody looks perfect at the end of the day but women have just got to embrace who they are.

“Our bodies are full of strength and beauty.”

Despite the pressure, it’s important for mothers to remember that their bodies have actually just achieved the most incredible thing, and what you look like really shouldn’t matter at all.

Emmy Waller and her daughter Alice (Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

For Waller, simply the fact that Alice is breastfeeding is cause for celebration because Alice was born jaundiced and so was routinely taken away to be given antibiotics and found it difficult to feed.

But Waller persevered and has now been breastfeeding Alice for three months.

Waller said: “Alice and I are extremely close, we have an amazing bond, because she gets everything from me. When I walk into the room, she hears me and her eyes light up.

“In the photograph when Alice is looking up at me, she does a little smile and it's just the best feeling in the world. She gets cuddles from me, comfort from me, milk from me. Everything she needs comes from me and my body.”

Because our bodies are amazing.