You can rent a room in The Merrion Hotel for a cool €7k a month
You can rent a room in The Merrion Hotel for a cool €7k a month

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The IMAGE staffers on the spring accessories they’re shopping for this season

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Real Weddings: Aoife and Brendan tied the knot at a Tudor-style house in Co Carlow

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This modern farmhouse in Enniskerry is on the market for €945,000
This modern farmhouse in Enniskerry is on the market for €945,000

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This charming Enniskerry farmhouse with gorgeous grounds is on the market for €2.5 million

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5 Celebrities Who Want To Shut Down Post-Baby Body Pressures For Women


By Jennifer McShane
28th May 2016

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 12: Actress Anne Hathaway (L) and actress Emily Blunt attend Disney's Alice Through the Looking Glass event on May 12, 2016 at Roseark in Los Angeles California. Top designers showcased whimsical fashions, accessories and beauty collections inspired by the upcoming film. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images for Disney Consumer Products & Interactive Media)

5 Celebrities Who Want To Shut Down Post-Baby Body Pressures For Women

In 2016, it’s a common sight to see many an actress or supermodel almost immediately return to their pre-baby body form after they’ve had a child, setting an unattainable standard which many women may feel compelled to live up to, despite knowing that it is, for want of a better term, total BS. You’ve just given birth to another human being, a miraculous thing in itself and should rightly feel empowered with the kind of confidence the goes beyond having a taunt stomach. Yes, your body has changed – harbouring a tiny person in your womb for nine months will ensure this happens – and it’s utter nonsense to expect your body to just “bounce back” to its former state – it simply isn’t the norm, not by a long shot. ?Yet, some already physically blessed women have been nonverbally setting the post-baby body bar for new mums higher with their post-birth selfies and talk of prenatal gym time. However, we are starting to see a change in that that more Hollywood mums are speaking out against these unrealistic expectations; reminding mums to be proud of their bodies and to bask in the “I’m Superwoman” feelings of glory that should follow after the birth of a child.

Below are quotes from five women who are taking a stand for new mums everywhere:

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore Holds Press Conference To Announce Her New Endeavor

?I would much rather have my kids and look a little worse in a bathing suit!? came Barrymore’s response when asked about pressures of pregnancy weight gain while in the public eye.

Olivia Wilde

The Cinema Society With DKNY, Forevermark & RentTheRunway.com Host The Premiere Of "Butter" - After Party

?I believe in a world where mothers are not expected to shed any physical evidence of their child-bearing experience . . . I don’t want to waste my time striving for some subjective definition of perfection.? Preach.

Zooey Deschanel

“To expect someone to look like her pre-baby self immediately is odd,? Deschanel once said. ?There’s a lot that needs to go back to where it was. All your organs move around.?

Jennifer Garner ?

Garner’s words are t-shirt worthy: ?I am not pregnant, but I have had three kids, and there is a bump. From now on, ladies, I will have a bump. Let’s all just settle in and get used to it. It’s not going anywhere.?

Anne Hathaway

LA Art Show And Los Angeles Fine Art Show's 2016 Opening Night Premiere Party Benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Arrivals

The actress gave birth two months ago and told Ellen DeGeneres that this inspired a new kind of confidence: “Being a mom has changed me in a couple of ways, one of them is that I would normally walk in [to the gym] and feel so intimidated, but I walk in, and I’m like, ?Yeah, I work out with 5 pound weights, but I pushed a baby out of my body. I feel good right now.? – She recounted one such instance after she told an inquiring trainer who asked if she was trying to lose her baby weight. ?It’s a little bit too soon to worry about weight. I’m just trying to regain my strength,? was her reply.

The only response that should greet a woman after she’s given birth is one of congratulations and praise and as Hathaway says, “If somebody says, “‘Oh, I had a baby 13 years ago,? you’re like, ?You look great!? That is what you do! That is the etiquette!?