32-year-old Sonia O’Bree, from Kempsey, New South Wales has stripped off for a maternity shoot in a bid to encourage body positivity. She shared photos from the shoot which took place while she was 34 weeks pregnant with her second child to show women that all body shapes are beautiful and encourage people to ignore the pressure to look a particular way – pregnant or not.
Alongside the photos which she shared on Facebook she wrote: ‘I recently dared to bare my mummy curves to celebrate my womanly figure in all of its glory.
‘I was very lucky to find a wonderful photographer in my local area who was willing to join me in a journey out of our comfort zones to make this shoot happen.
‘Tonight she has revealed some of these images, and I honestly could not be happier with them. I’m in love with my own image, I never thought I’d say that about my curves, but I did and I am.’
‘I hope my photos will encourage more women to feel positive and beautiful in their mummy curves… even if they are not mummy curves, find comfort and beauty within yourselves,’ she continued
‘We are, each of us different from the rest. Each of us unique and beautiful. This life is so short, and oh so precious, embrace all that you are, slim or curvy, tall or short.
‘Dare to bare.’
Speaking to the media about her decision to do a nude maternity shoot, Ms O’Bree said she wanted to have a nude maternity shoot six years ago ahead of the birth of her first child, but her son came early.
‘I thought I looked amazing, I was very slender for my first pregnancy,’ she said.
‘This time around I was 20 kilograms heavier and I was reluctant to have the shoot at first.
‘But I spoke to Michelle [the photographer] about it and in the end I talked myself into it. I was both excited and nervous going into it.’
Ms O’Bree said once she was with the photographer it was ‘completely comfortable.’
‘Basically I figured I needed to embrace what I am at the moment and I am so very happy with that. After seeing the photos I have a whole new outlook on my body shape,’ she said.
‘She sent me two of the photos as a preview and I looked at them and I was just amazed. I told her “you make my chubby bits look beautiful” and that’s the way I feel.
‘I can’t stop looking at them and I am suddenly in love with my body. I love my baby bump of course and I just feel very empowered by the whole situation.’
Ms O’Bree said she shared the photos on such a large platform because she wanted to share the change in her beliefs.
‘There is so much pressure on women in general and especially now there are so many fitness fanatics posting photos and fit mums working out with their teeny tiny beautiful baby bumps,’ Ms O’Bree said.
‘Whether it’s natural or not, not everyone is like that and the vast majority of us have curves.’
‘One lady commented asking if I had a big baby or twins and it got under my skin so in posting the photos I felt like it was a “stick it to them” kind of moment.
‘I do believe my body is beautiful and while I had emotional, low days before, I can’t imagine feeling anything other than beautiful anymore and that’s how all of us women should feel.’
