Authentic photo campaign shows the unfiltered reality of postpartum life
The reality of life postpartum and the images we see of it could not be further apart.
But a new photo campaign by Australian leakproof apparel brand Modibodi and Getty Images hopes to bridge that gulf by showing what life in the 12-month post-birth period is really like.
Getty Images photographers from around the world took portraits of mothers in the first year after giving birth to create the 'Embodied: Postpartum Unfiltered' gallery.
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The campaign aims to redefine portrayals of postpartum life beyond the 'baby bliss' or 'baby blues' stereotypes. Instead, the photos show new mums and their babies amid the emotional and physical reality of this period of time.
Modibodi founder and CEO Kristy Chong says that the brand found the range of available images limited when launching a new range of postpartum range of leak-proof bras, camisoles, and briefs, and reusable nappies.
"Most postpartum images were disheartening photos of mums scared or frustrated. At the other end of the spectrum were glossy celeb mum and bub snaps," she says. "We knew this had to change."
The image gallery contains more than 1,500 photos taken by 27 photographers from around the world. Svetlana Zhukova, director of custom solutions at Getty Images, says the photographers "tapped into their own families and friends to capture the very real perspectives from this vulnerable part of many women’s lives."
The images can be accessed on gettyimages.com using the keywords 'postpartum,' 'embodied,' and 'unfiltered' from Oct. 1 2021.
Businesses, brands, and media organisations are encouraged to licence the images when portraying the postpartum experience.
Chong says that postpartum life isn't portrayed authentically in media and advertising — particularly the highpoints and lowpoints, the tiredness, loneliness, and anxiety.
"I’ve had four different postpartum experiences," says Chong. "Among the intense feelings of happiness and limitless love was a sense that I had to keep the challenging parts like loneliness, cracked nipples, postpartum bleeding, exhaustion, and bladder leaks a secret."
"While it's not the experience for all new mums, breastfeeding in public was hard for me. Sentiment was changing towards it being OK to feed in public, however, all my life I had been told to cover up my breasts, that they are private," adds Chong.
"It was hard for me to switch my brain to feel relaxed and comfortable about getting my boobs out to breastfeed in public. Instead I'd struggle with these wraps to cover myself and my bub would feel the tension and not feed very well."
As part of the campaign, Modibodi wants parents from around the world to share their own postpartum images on social media using the #PostpartumUnfiltered hashtag.
Topics Social Good Family & Parenting
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
