‘Bachelor’ Star Catherine Giudici Shows Off Shrinking Baby Belly One Week After Birth

Catherine Giudici Lowe shared an honest photo of her post-baby body. (Photo: Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

Now here’s someone who puts the “real” in reality star.

Over the weekend, Catherine Giudici Lowe took to Instagram to show off her one-week-old post-baby body on Instagram. The 30-year-old “winner” of the 17th season of The Bachelor gave birth to her first child, Samuel Thomas, on July 2, and on Saturday she decided to post side-by-side shots of her nine-months-pregnant belly and her 7-day-old new mom belly.

But unlike many celebrities (and non-celebrities) who have recently given birth, Giudici, who tied the knot with Bachelor Sean Lowe on live TV in January 2014, is not flaunting a tight, toned, bare tummy — and her followers couldn’t be more complimentary.

User @krissyandchad commented, “You look amazing,” while @cscott522 wrote, “looking great mamasita [sic]!” User @san_diego_gal wrote, “Pregnancy is beautiful on a woman and please take your time and don’t stress about losing the weight. There’s no need to rush it. It took 9 months to put it on so it’s okay if it takes 9 months to take it off. You look beautiful.”

Lowe shared side-by-side photos on Instagram at nine months pregnant (left) and seven days after having her baby. (Photo: Instagram/CatherineGiudici)

One follower even came to her defense: “People are so quick to judge one another,” wrote @jnelsonnn. “I still can’t understand that and probably never will. Catherine just carried a human being for 9+ months, and it’s like the expectation is for her to look flawless a week postpartum! News flash — she DOES look flawless! She just witnessed the miracle of child birth — let her have her time with the baby and Sean. When she is ready, she’ll share pictures. Stop pushing things on her when she already has enough to worry about. @catherinegiudici — Shine bright and enjoy baby Samuel to yourself and Sean for as long as you wish! You are an inspiration.”

Perhaps Giudici’s candid posting will become a new trend on social media, although she is not the first woman to embrace the realness of her after-pregnancy figure. The blog My Post Baby Body features inspiring stories of numerous women and serves as “a sanctuary for mamas who feel some sort of way about their post-baby body.”

“It’s such a relief to see real moms with relatable post-pregnancy bodies!” Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist and author of Your Best Age Is Now, tells Yahoo Beauty.

Ludwig explains that new mothers often put a tremendous amount of pressure on themselves to return to their pre-baby weights. “So, photos of new moms posting their ‘perfect’ postpartum bodies can induce feelings of self-loathing and shame for the other moms out there who can’t achieve this toned look right away,” she says.

This type of honesty is not only refreshing, notes Ludwig, but it can also be rewarding. “It’s important to know that post-baby bodies come in all shapes and sizes and that it’s OK not to be in bikini-bod shape right after giving birth,” she states. “The truth of the matter is, most women are not.”

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