Website celebrates real moms’ beauty, stretch marks and all

Bonnie Crowder’s moment of truth came as she sat in a café in Anaheim, Calif. Like many moms, she didn’t like her body: Despite efforts to lose the baby weight, her stomach still looked fat and unattractive to her eyes.


Then a fit-looking mom walked by, and as she hoisted up the infant carrier in her arms, her shirt hiked up to reveal a glimpse of flabby tummy â€" the same post-baby belly that Crowder had thought was her secret shame.
“I thought, maybe this isn’t my fault,� Crowder says. “Maybe this is normal.�
Then Crowder had a third thought, one that would change her life and change the attitudes of thousands of women: “I thought, more people need to see this.�
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At that moment, “Shape of a Motherâ€� was born. Certain that more people needed to see what real women’s bodies look like after pregnancy and birth â€" not just the air-brushed and creatively lit six-pack abs in glossy magazines â€" the San Diego mother of two started a website where mothers send in photos of their bodies. Don’t expect artfully shot portraits with strategically placed shadows: These women get real. Stretch marks, C-section scars, dimply thighs and wonky breasts are on display here.


Slideshow: On Shape of a Mother, real moms bare their bellies... and their souls (on this page)
Crowder wasn’t sure whether anyone else would care, but submissions started rolling in almost immediately. She has posted 1,700 entries over the past five years, some anonymous and some with names and faces. The site has been so successful, she recently started a new site called “This is a Womanâ€� to share images of all kinds of real women’s bodies â€" not just moms. Along with the photos on Shape of a Mother, she gets heartfelt, sometimes achingly confessional posts from women explaining their complicated relationships with their post-baby bodies.
“I feel as if I am disgusting, I look in the mirror and don’t even see myself anymore. Every part of me has changed, everything. I want to love who I am, but I can’t,� one mom of an 8-month-old wrote.
The community of women who comment on the site jump in quickly with encouraging words for new mothers struggling with depression. Other women post photos of their imperfect bodies with notes of defiance, even glee.

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