Why Grace is helping mums take pride in their post natal bodies

And in the weeks after a birth the resulting change to the body such as stretch marks, scars and getting to grips with breastfeeding and being a mum can take their toll on body image.

It is an issue close to photographer Grace Hill's heart having pictured a number of mums and their newborns in these previous weeks.

And it led her to launch a project designed to promote a more positive approach to women's bodies after they have had a baby, dispel the myths surrounding childbirth and celebrate the wonder of childbirth.

The resulting Gold Dust Project, which Grace admits she did mainly for herself and the women who have taken part in it, has already hit a nerve, being picked up by a number of social media platforms which have high profiles on Instagram and Facebook including Love What Matters and Yahoo Lifestyle.

"It has really taken off very quickly, which I am amazed and really proud of.

"It is not an exhibition or anything like that, it literally was something I wanted to do as it just felt so important to me.

"I was photographing women after they had had babies and noticing the mums were so self-conscious.

"They wanted to make sure I didn't get their 'mum tum' in or the stretch marks, they were worried about what people might think about them being photographed breast feeding and they didn't like their stretch marks or their scars.

"And it got me thinking that these are things which should be celebrated.

"Their bodies have just done an amazing thing, they have produced a baby, and so the scars and the stretch marks should be seen as something beautiful," says Grace, who professionally photographs weddings and family portraits.

She says the added pressure of seeing celebrity mums appear to snap back in shape immediately after birth, and then documenting this on Facebook is adding to the pressure on other mums.

"It is brilliant that someone like Rebekah Vardy has put a picture of her tummy on line after having her baby because that is normal, and we should embrace that," says Grace.

At 22, Grace is yet to be a mum and admits people find it unusual she is making a stand for others - but as a woman it is hugely supportive to her.

Grace, who lives and works in Colchester, explains she has a number of friends who have had babies and it is something she has spoken to then about a lot.

And she says like many women, she still struggles with her own body image issues.

The Gold Dust Project idea has been taken from an ancient Japanese art form Grace has long been a fan of.

Grace says : "This stems from the Japanese art of Kintsugi, something I stumbled across years ago during my GCSE art lessons.

"Kintsugi focuses on fixing and putting back together broken ceramics with gold, the idea being that the ceramic item, once broken, now fixed, was more beautiful than before.

Photographer - Grace Hill 

"I loved this idea very much, but refused to apply the ‘broken’ aspect to my project, because after all, post partum women are not ‘broken’, and they do not require ‘fixing.’

"Therefore, the Gold Dust Project draws upon the beauty of gold and their beauty in their wonderful scars and stretch marks."

The story resonated with huge numbers of mums who all came forward following an appeal from Grace for models to help with the project.

There were a whole host of reasons behind those taking part from mums who has suffered traumatic births, were conscious of their post-baby bodies or who wanted desperately to try and boost positive image for future generations.

"What has been most amazing to me, is the incredible response to this project.

"Every woman has been so on board with the idea, and has not only absolutely been behind it from the start, but they also have opened up to me in ways I couldn’t believe.

"From one woman’s positivity to normalize breastfeeding, to my almost therapeutic session with one lady who had a love-hate relationship with her emergency C-section scar, to meeting two ‘scar buddies’ in the form of a wonderful C-section mother and her six-year-old little girl with Spina Bifida, whose reaction to seeing her scar painted in gold almost had me in tears," explains Grace.

She says the fact the project has got people discussing the issue of body image once again and rejoicing childbirth, has been the best possible outcome she could have hoped for.

Find the project at www.photographybygrace.co.uk and www.facebook.com/GraceElizabethPhotography

Mum-of-three Lorna Blanchard had just given birth to her youngest daughter when she heard about the Gold Dust Project.

She says it was a perfect chance to dispel some myths about having babies and attempt to create a more positive view for the sake of her own daughters.

"I was just browsing Facebook and it came up and I was just really interested in helping to raise awareness.

"I don't think I would have considered it with my first pregnancy but now I am on my third I am much more comfortable and proud about what my body has achieved," says Lorna, who lives in Copford.

Lorna was photographed feeding her baby and also had gold dusted on to her stretch marks and Caesarean scar.

She says she wanted to try and dispel the myth it is important to snap straight back into shape after childbirth.

"With three daughters it is really important to me to try and get that message across.

"And also to try and have a more open debate about pregnancy and childbirth.

"Our mothers and their before did not really talk about what would happen, about stretch marks and scars and childbirth itself and it is something we have to talk about more.

"There have been a few negative reactions about my photographs because of the breastfeeding angle but this wasn't about debating if breast is best or not - it is about saying I have had a baby, I do breastfeed and this is what happens to my body when I do.

"Some people have said 'have you never heard of modesty ?' but I probably wear less on the beach !"

Taking part in a project like this one was out of character for Jade Collins - but she knew she had to do it.

Jade, from Colchester, had experienced a traumatic birth with her baby Teddy who was born early via caesarean section.

With Jade having developed the potentially fatal condition pre-eclampsia it was so urgent Teddy, now a healthy seven-month-old, be born and quickly, the operation was performed under general anaesthetic.

"It meant I did not see him being born and obviously that was very tough for me to come to terms with having had that taken away.

"So I had a very difficult time with my scar because it represented missing out on a very important part of his life.

"I had also always had a difficult relationship with my body - I had never really been happy with it," says Jade.

But when she saw an appeal from Grace to take part in the project, she knew straight away she wanted to do it and it would be a chance too confront her own feelings towards her scars and her body.

"I read about the gold dust, and the broken pottery and it moved me to tears.

"It really did make me realise our bodies should be celebrated after childbirth, that they should be celebrated in general, and made me think about how I felt about my scars.

"And once I saw what Grace was doing, I really wanted to do it to help other women.

"Grace was amazing and really made me feel comfortable from start to finish and even though we had already signed something to say she could use the photographs she insisted we look at them first and made sure were were happy before they were published.

"I felt very relaxed and I am really proud of the photographs."