Why Every Woman Needs to See These Unretouched Photos of Postpartum Bodies

Once a woman has a baby, she's not just a mother — she's also been inducted into a new club, a secret society of sorts, of fellow women whose bodies have been forever changed by the birth of their child. For some, they develop a newfound appreciation: they can finally look past the stretch marks, flabby skin, and sagging breasts to realize they don't need flat abs to feel beautiful. They certainly have their off moments, but they finally stop idolizing the body types that they so often compared themselves to in their younger days.

That new club — and all its members, in their many shapes and sizes — is what photographer Liliana Taboas has been documenting for her "Divine Mothering" project. Aimed at showing the beauty in the unretouched postpartum body, Taboas has made it her mission to help those struggling with body image issues, "humanize women's bodies . . . and celebrate the changes women's bodies go through over time, through pregnancy and breastfeeding," she said on her blog.

But Taboas doesn't want to only reach this exclusive club of moms with her empowering photography. She knows "not all women are mothers" and hopes to "serve all women" with her work. To that end, any woman who wants to love her own body should keep reading and find inspiration in this curation of "Divine Mothering" shots, hand-picked by Taboas herself.