by A mum of triplets has posted a defiant photo of her ‘mum tum’ stretch marks – and insisted she’s proud of every scar and wrinkle. She renamed her stretch marks ‘hope wounds’ as she shared her struggle with her body image following the birth of her children.
Desiree Fortin, 30, who lives in San Diego with her husband Ryan, 31, said she has always felt ‘proud’ of her body after giving birth to one-year-old Charlize, Jax and Sawyer following difficulties with Infertility. She said:” For every woman unhappy with her postpartum marks, there is one wishing she had them.” It was a triple surprise, as the parents discovered they were expecting not one, not two but three babies – who were born in August 2015. After years of wishing for a child, Desiree embraced her pregnancy – and everything that came with it, including her enormous bump.
She regularly posts candid pictures of the resulting stretch marks, which have helped her gain an army of 83,000 followers, but have also seen her face cruel taunts from trolls. She said: “Although I never imagined my body would look the way it does now, it represents so much more.There is a lot of extra skin, stretch marks, sag and wrinkles.And while my new mum body may be hard to love sometimes, it is a new me that represents the power of the female body and the miracle of carrying three babies.” Desiree calls her stretch marks her ‘hope wounds’, because she never stopped wishing for a child. To her, the scars represent the power of the female body and stories of love and loss.
She said: “For the ‘one’ somewhere wishing, hoping, praying for her miracle, this is for you. For the one who delivered and lost your baby, I know your marks are all you physically have left of your angel. You are strong mama.” Desiree previously revealed she’d been targeted by sick Instagram trollswho wrote: “Disgusting, I don’t know what husband would ever want to come home to that”, after her stretch mark snaps. Posting a side-by-side shot showing her pre and post-baby bodies, the mum said: “The woman in the top photo with the gorgeous tan lines and flat tummy mastered shaming her body. She had such a distorted idea of body image and struggled to understand self-love and self-care. She would look into the mirror and find everything wrong with her body and worked hard to fix it. The woman in the bottom photo may not have the perfect tummy, gorgeous tan and a stretch mark free body BUT she has more confidence than she ever has in her life.
She is beautiful and can find strength in what some people would call her flaws. Her body is beautiful and she worked hard for exactly what it is now. Carrying a child, let alone 3 at one time, is not an easy task. Yes, the journey came with a whole new body, but I am also a whole new me with a greater understanding of loving myself and that is a GIFT!”
