Some moms prefer their post-baby bodies stretch marks and all

Mom topics

Jacoba Urist TODAY contributor

April 30, 2014 at 11:25 PM ET

Tarah Chieffi

Tarah Chieffi and 8-month-old Avery.

Most mothers can agree that having a baby forever changes your body, whether its fuller hips, a softer midsection or breasts that are never quite as perky as they once were. And we live in a culture where "getting your pre-baby body back" is assumed to be a nearly universal post-partum goal.

But some moms are just fine with their post-baby body, finding that with those changes comes a new kind of strength and an appreciation for what theyre physically capable of doing.

Although 70 percent of women said they feel worse about how their body looks after having kids, 30 percent of moms like their body better and feel more powerful and confident" in their looks, according to a 2013TODAY.com survey of more than 3,000 women.

I went through the body image thing a lot of girls go through in college, when I was fixated on my body and my weight, says Leslie Goldman of Chicago, mom of a 2-year-old daughter who is expecting her second child in six weeks. None of that was a part of my life after my late twenties, but postpartum is still so freeing and empowering for me to watch my body in a whole new light, healing from surgery and still producing food to feed my baby.

Related:How do you feel about your post-baby body? Let us know and send us a photo on our Facebook page, and we may include you in a future TODAY story.

Original post:
Some moms prefer their post-baby bodies stretch marks and all