This Mum's Viral Photo Shows That No Two Pregnancies Are The Same

Instead of a typical before and after, one mum used a side-by-side photo to make an important point about the way we view pregnant women's bodies.

Laura Mazza, who runs the blog Mum On The Run, shared the comparison shot on her Facebook page. She posted an image from 14 weeks into her first pregnancy next to one at nine weeks into her third. With these photos, she shared a powerful reminder that no two pregnancies look the same, even for the same mom.

She also points out that our bodies are so much more than how they look: We should be focused on what they can do, especially for pregnant women whose bodies are working hard every day to form a second tiny human inside them.

"The baby is a size of a pea, and in there’s some noodles, some banana lollies and about a kilo of watermelon... doesn’t look like a bump should at 9 weeks, but I don’t care," Mazza wrote. "I won’t hide my little pouch. It’s growing a baby and I should be proud of it."

"I’ve been through so much with this body, how can I resent it and hide it away?" she added. "Bodies change. It’s brought me children, it’s gone through battles, it’s had cancer scares with lumps in my boobs, it’s fought mental illness, it’s wrestled with no sleep and been a home to three kids. Worrying about how big I look surely does it an injustice."

Mazza's post sends us all a much-needed message about loving our bodies, no matter what state they're in. She also ended with a message to anyone who might want to comment on a pregnant woman's body.

"And please well meaning individuals who feel the need to comment on a pregnant woman’s body, or any woman’s body, know this, the only time you should worry if something is too big or too small, is the cake and flowers you’re gonna buy her for being such an amazing human being," she wrote.

Refinery29 has reached out to Mazza for comment, and will update this article when we receive a response.