Pregnancy brand Frida shows us what real 'milk-makin' boobs' look like

Frida, a pregnancy and labor brand that offers pre and postpartum education and maternal health products, hopes to challenge common misconceptions about postpartum bodies in its latest attention-grabbing public education move: an uncensored look at diverse, breast-feeding bodies.

Originally established in Sweden, the now Florida-based company's educational work around vaginal and maternal health, infant care, and parenting have historically included other boundary-pushing ads, including an unaired TV spot featuring detailed depictions of vaginal health post-pregnancy, and a 2018 billboard campaign that, in a shock to some, used the word "vagina." Frida Mom's new image library, available on its website, is a rare public resource that shows completely unedited photographs of nipples — from "dinner plate" areolas to "leaky, crusty" nipples —intended to help normalize the body's natural changes.

Frida wants to normalize the body's natural changes. Credit: FRIDAMOM

The company says the lack of widespread knowledge of anatomy and women's health has been a failure of sex education and broader public health initiatives, which they intend to address. The issue popped up on social media this past October, after rapper Cardi B accidentally shared an image of her postpartum breasts on Twitter. The image disturbed some of her followers, who criticized the size of her nipples in the comment section of the now deleted post. But many others rallied behind her and began to share images their own breasts, starting the #BoobsOutForCardi trend. Frida wants to continue the conversation by sharing the unedited images of real post-childbirth nipples to reiterate that #BoobsStillOutForCardi.

“The uproar around Cardi B’s post-baby nipples substantiated our initial conviction that women are uniquely uninformed when it comes to the physical transformation that women’s bodies go through after having a child — nipples included," said Frida CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn. "Frida Mom is dedicated to changing that, and deeply committed to preparing women for what their bodies will go through.”

The initiative features a digital library of images, alongside brief explanations of how and why breasts change, to both prepare pregnant readers and educate others about the natural, expected changes of breasts during and after pregnancy. The page's most important advice: Don't be afraid of your body's natural changes — it's all OK.

According to Frida Mom, expect prominent veins, stretch marks, asymmetry, and widened areolas on breasts during pregnancy. Try massaging out breast tissue to help with stretching skin. And, generally, keep in mind that "the changes are all totally normal, as is the fact that your breasts may never look the same again. Just roll with it and embrace your boobs’ new, beautiful normal."

Check out the images now on Frida's website.