Lauren Brant Defends Her Decision To Share A Bikini Photo Of Herself One Week Postpartum!

Former Hi-5 member Lauren Brant and partner Barry Hall welcomed their first son Miller Hall into the world just one week ago.

And on Monday, Brant decided to share a photo of herself onto her Instagram stories dressed in a black bikini holding her baby boy. The new mum looks amazing one week postpartum and the huge smile on her face is no doubt due to the fact she’s proud of what she’s achieved! The image shared was captioned with ‘Exactly 1 WEEK POST’ alongside three baby emojis.

The photo itself is beautiful and all mothers have the choice to represent themselves however they see fit. Brant is clearly happy with the way her body has bounced back so soon after having her little one and is keen to show it off.

Not everyone saw the beauty in the pic. A writer for Mamamia, wrote a piece earlier this week titled ‘Dear women who post photos of their post-baby bodies.’ I found myself rolling my eyes more than I should’ve while reading it. It was so judgmental and filled with back handed compliments and passive-aggressive remarks.

This is not an attack. I realise you are probably not thinking of other women when you pose to show off your body with your newborn tucked under your arm or bundled over your shoulder and share those photos with the world. 

And yet it was an attack. An attack yet again on women who look a particular way after childbirth. The writer felt it necessary to include pictures of all the celebrities (with faces pixilated out) that had shared postpartum photos. What do all these mums have in common? They have flat tummies and amazing bodies soon after giving birth!

So what?! The former Hi-5 star took offence to the piece and decided to give her side of the story. It sheds light as to why a woman may choose to share a bikini shot of herself. Not that that even needs justifying in my opinion!

The Mamamia writer had some advice for women like Brant, saying – I’m just suggesting this one thing. Before you post a shot of your post-baby body with the focus being firmly on your body not your baby (the baby in these post-baby bodies shots is always facing away from the camera almost as an afterthought or proof-prop that the flat-stomached new mum has in fact given birth, have you noticed?)…. I’m suggesting you think for a moment about other women and the power you have to make them feel good or like shit.

Think about the other women who have, like you, given birth recently and who are at home leaking milk from tender breasts, blood from vaginal or caesar stitches, tears from their eyes due to hormones, sleep deprivation and overwhelm.

Again, why is it the job of these women to make us feel good about ourselves? I’m not stupid. I know that my body didn’t look like that after having kids but then again my body didn’t look like that before kids either! And if Brant looked after herself and managed to look the way she does shouldn’t we celebrate that just as much as we ‘high five’ women who post photos of their flabby stomachs and stretch marks? Why the double standard?

So while I could talk about this for hours- I won’t. I’ll let you read Lauren Brant’s letter for yourself as it appeared on Mamamia this week:

Hi Mia,

I have read your post and appreciate that you chose not to use names, however you have used my image and although I can’t compete with your journalism skills, I do have a strong opinion which I believe is important for you to read in response to your statements.

Throughout my pregnancy I was told that a good diet and exercise is good for the baby, good for a healthy delivery, better for me as a mother to recover and also to prevent or better deal with post natal depression.

I was so sick at the start of my pregnancy, then had some very un-motivating hormonal emotions. But I remembered the first fact and forced myself to do at least a little exercise everyday and eat well.

Trust me, I was happy to just be pregnant, eat for two and sit on the couch and have other people do things for me. That would have been much easier. But I kept reminding myself that it would be better for me and bub in the long term. What would happen in nine months when I couldn’t use pregnancy as an excuse anymore?!

You know how frustrating it can be for a person, not pregnant, to exercise and watch what they eat regularly and not see results? Well I found it extremely frustrating actually putting on weight (in other areas than my tummy) and getting more tired and more uncomfortable.