Tia Mowry gets candid about her postpartum body: ‘I literally thought something was wrong with me’

Tia Mowry is opening up about her postpartum experience after giving birth three years ago—and we think moms everywhere will understand.

The “Sister, Sister” actress is mom to 10-year-old son Cree and 3-year-old daughter Cairo. She’s been candid about life as a mom of two, discussing everything from co-sleeping to the highs and lows of breastfeeding. Now, Mowry is opening up about how she felt about her postpartum body.

When she didn’t lose her baby weight right away, Mowry says she questioned if something was wrong with her.

In an interview with Yahoo’s So Mini Ways, Mowry explained how she felt.

“I had an unhealthy perspective because of what was pushed in society. So when I saw that my belly wasn’t flat after having a baby and I was not on the beach in a bikini saying, ‘Yeah, I just had a baby!’ I literally thought something was wrong with me. I’m very serious.”

She continued, “I went to my gynecologist and I said, ‘Why isn’t my stomach going down? Like, what’s wrong with me?’ And then she actually told me, ‘Tia, it takes a minute for your uterus to shrink.’ And I’m like, ‘What? Why is it that people aren’t sharing this? Why is it that people aren’t sharing the authentic aftermath of what happens when we give birth?'”

“Now, for some women that does happen, which is great and awesome—no knock to them. But I wanted be an example for the other women that you necessarily didn’t see being celebrated or glorified in the press or just social media. So I did it because I want to see some change, and the feedback has definitely been positive and inspiring,” she concluded.

Mowry’s right: every woman will have a different experience after giving birth. We need to see all those stories in the media. We need to make sure that new mothers know that they’re not alone if they don’t immediately lose their pregnancy weight. That’s normal, we promise!

Mama, you’ve given birth. You brought a child into this world! You have nothing to prove. And there is certainly nothing wrong with you.