How 1 Mom's Honest Postpartum Photo Post Is Inspiring Other Mamas

By Alessia Santoro

This is a picture of me 3 days postpartum. I was so raw and so open, I was a fucking mess. I loved my baby, I missed...

Posted by Danielle Haines on Saturday, September 12, 2015

While having a baby is the most amazing gift a mom can receive, pregnancy and labor wreak havoc on a woman's body, leaving them tired, sore, raw, and emotional.

Three days after having her son, Danielle Haines decided to share a photo of her in this extremely delicate state, because in all honesty, it's beautiful. This isn't a shot of her after she wiped on a touch of makeup or in a pretty dress that hides her postpartum body — it's a totally raw and gorgeous shot of her and her baby boy just existing together in the most natural way.

In her post to Facebook, she describes her support system — friends and sisters who came by to make sure she was eating, to help her nurse, to be a listening ear, and to reassure her that her son was OK — "I had a magical postpartum. It wasn't easy but I was so supported and fed and reminded that the mothers before me had been through this part of motherhood, and that I'd get through it just fine too."

Commenters are finding her photo to be both inspiring and relatable:

That is beautiful and true. Totally how I felt in my experiences. So much rushes out of your body so fast (a human, placenta, fluid, blood...) and birthing is so intense and wild in itself and then there you are, just blown wide open, forever changed, with this person that was inside now outside and in your care round-the-clock. It kicked my ass both times. And it is so raw and so precious.

Posting this photo was a way for her to capture what postpartum really looks like, and her emotion is so palpable that as a mother you can immediately relate to what she's feeling. Her words and the photo are not only inspiring but a reminder that we all find some way to get through this stage with the help of our loved ones and through knowing that caring for our children is one of the most rewarding things we'll ever do.