10 celebrities and influencers who opened up about their postpartum journey

Chessie King welcomed her first child, Auraelia Coco King Carter, earlier this year and branded her journey into motherhood as "uncharted territory."

Just over a week after giving birth by caesarean section, Chessie struck up an honest conversation with her near 800,000 followers about her postpartum experience.

"We’ve learnt more in the past nine days than we did the entire nine months of pregnancy⁣," she said in an Instagram post. "I totally underestimated the amount of pain I would be in after my caesarean, no one told me I’d be recovering from being sawn in half."

Chessie also revealed she'd been dealing with "thick pillow pads" and "cracked bleeding nipples," which left her in tears and feeling as though her "entire body had been possessed by pain."

Despite all that, she reassured mums-to-be that although they'd need to "learn on the job," the reward is "the most sensational and indescribable" thing in the world.

Just a few weeks after the birth of her son, Wolfe, former Made in Chelsea star Binky Felstead got real with her 1.5 million followers about the fourth trimester.

"The 3/4 week wall has hit! I’m obviously tired, can feel a couple of lovely ulcers working away in my mouth and a little sty popping up on my eye - all the typical run down signs," she said in an Instagram post.

But, despite the tiredness, and the mouth ulcers, Binky reminded other new mums that "every step is so precious."

"I’ll be pulling up the fourth trimester draw bridge soon and will be missing these early days and even sleepless nights before I know it," she added. "So if you’re feeling like me Mama - you’ve got this!"

Towards the end of 2020, Chrissy Teigen shared the devastating news that she and husband, John Legend, had lost their son, Jack. Almost a year later, she took to Instagram to open up about how her postpartum experience after losing a child was so very different to that of her previous ones.

"It’s really weird when you lose a baby and your body gets paused in time," she told her 35.4 million followers, "It has nothing to do. No one to feed. And you’re just…stuck. Stuck with saggy boobs that were prepping to be milk bags, a belly that was ready to bake."

She continued: "Not only are you extremely, diabolically sad at what could have been, but you have this daily reminder every time you look in the goddamn mirror."

Much like other new mums, Ashley Graham admitted to her 14.3 million followers that she underestimated how tough postpartum life would be. "Raise your hand if you didn’t know you’d be changing your own diapers too," she said in an Instagram post in February 2020 after welcoming her first child, Isaac.

"No one talks about the recovery and healing (yes even the messy parts) new moms go through," she added. "I wanted to show you guys that it’s not all rainbows and butterflies! It’s been tough."

She continued: "It’s unbelievable the obstacles we still face talking about what women really go through."

But, as Ashley points out, by opening up the conversation herself, she hopes to inspire other mums to do the same.

Body confidence influencer and model Tess Holiday was no stranger to talking about all-things-body before becoming a mum. But, after giving birth, she opened up to her 2.2 million followers about the mental health impact of postpartum life, revealing that she had been diagnosed with extreme Postpartum Depression.

"Moms are expected to 'bounce back' physically and emotionally. We are expected to 'stay strong; for the family. Yet most of us (myself included) still have days where we feel like a stranger in our bodies," she said in a raw and heartfelt Instagram post, "it got so bad that I had to take action and by doing so it potentially saved my life."

"I guess what I’m saying is, moms/parental figures: you have to take time to care for YOU," she stressed, "Ask for help, talk to someone, find a support group or hell, message me. You aren’t alone and you don’t need to suffer alone."

After the birth of her first child, Sylvester, supermodel Emily Ratajkowski took to Instagram to reveal that despite jetting across the world for shoots and protesting for women's rights, her busiest job is being a mum.

Sharing a sweet breastfeeding photo with her 28.4 million followers, Em Rata revealed that she feels like she's "always breastfeeding," before jokingly pointing out that she is, in fact, always breastfeeding.

Love Island presenter and new mum Laura Whitmore took to Instagram in April to give her honest opinion on motherhood and her post-pregnancy body.

Speaking to her 1.4 million followers, Laura said: "Little tip for speaking to new mums… everyone has a different experience so please don’t put your opinion or expectation on them."

Pointing out that she'd been made to feel guilty for feeling so positive post-birth, Laura added, "I’ve been told I won't be able to leave the house and should feel shit. But I actually feel the best I’ve ever felt and the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life."

In her post, she also reassured fellow mothers that each of their journeys and bodies are unique, and not to feel pressured into feeling a certain way. “You should never compare yourself to anyone else as your journey is specific to you” she said. "Support other women, it doesn’t knock you — in fact it empowers you.”

Tennis champ Serena Williams offered a different perspective on postpartum life when she opened up about not feeling like a "good mom."

Speaking to her 13.7 million Instagram followers, Serena stressed that it's so important for new mums to communicate their feelings with their loved ones. "Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, [and] my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal," she said.

Ultimately, she wants new mums to be reminded that even the bad days don't last forever. "I’m here to say: if you are having a rough day or week--it’s ok--I am too," she added, "There’s always tomorrow."