Ashley Graham shares candid Instagram post about postpartum body

‘Raise your hand if you didn’t know you’d be changing your own diapers too,’ model writes

Ashley Graham has shared a candid post on Instagram outlining the realities of experiencing a postpartum body, explaining that “no one talks about the recovery” of pregnancy.

Last month, it was announced that Graham had given birth to a baby boy named Isaac with her husband, videographer Justin Ervin.

The model recently shared two photographs of her newborn son on Instagram, saying that the arrival of her and Ervin’s first child made their hearts feel “incredibly full”.

In a new post shared on the social media platform, the 32-year-old explained that before giving birth, she was not fully aware of how pregnancy would affect her body.

Graham shared a selfie that showed her wearing a baggy, black crop top and light grey shorts, in addition to a frank caption about her experience.

“Raise your hand if you didn’t know you’d be changing your own diapers too,” she wrote.

“After all these years in fashion I never could’ve guessed that disposable underwear would be my favourite piece of clothing but here we are!”

Graham stated that she wanted to show her 10.2m followers that giving birth is “not all rainbows and butterflies”.

“No one talks about the recovery and healing (yes even the messy parts) new mums go through,” she said.

”It’s unbelievable the obstacles we still face talking about what women really go through.”

Several of Graham’s Instagram followers, including a number of celebrities, voiced their agreement with her sentiment.

Actor Jessica Alba commented with a emoji of a woman raising her arm, while another person wrote: “Keep those diapers. You’re going to be peeing all over yourself for the rest of your life too. #mumproblems.”

NCT, a UK-based parents charity, explains that new mothers can expect to experience vaginal bleeding after giving birth for around 24 to 36 days.

The organisation outlines that this bleeding is called “lochia”, and is a “combination of mucous, tissue and blood that your womb sheds as it replaces its lining after you’ve given birth”.

In May 2018, model Chrissy Teigen shared a picture on Instagram showing her wearing mesh postpartum underwear after giving birth to her second child, a son called Miles.