Mom calls out toxic snapback culture by sharing her ‘loose skin and stretch marks’ in viral TikTok

It’s no secret that there are unrealistic expectations of what a woman’s postpartum body should look like. And in today’s toxic snapback culture, where social media feeds are full of filtered and edited photos of bodies that are not attainable, it can feel like there’s an even bigger divide between what we actually look like and what the internet says we should look like.

So, that’s why when someone posts a real, raw and unedited image of their postpartum body in all of its glory (you did just birth a whole human being into the world) it is extremely refreshing.

Danisha Lestaevel, an avid Instagrammer and TikToker, has been posting progress of her postpartum body. In one viral TikTok video where she documents herself two weeks after giving birth to her fourth child, she’s already had more than 15.5 million views!

At a time when our social feeds are inundated with filtered images of bodies, this video and her other videos (her three-week-postpartum update already has over 17 million views!) showing the reality of her postpartum stages are so special.

In a study conducted with over 500 women about their body dissatisfaction after giving birth, they found that over a period of 9 months postpartum the mothers’ dissatisfaction with their bodies worsened. There are a lot of factors contributing to the way we feel about ourselves when we look in the mirror but since there’s only so much within our control, especially after enduring pregnancy and giving birth, it is not OK for society or the internet to step in and tell us what we’re “supposed” to look like.

Lestavael’s self love affirmations and her important messages about body positivity are exactly the kind of messages that our feeds could benefit from.

Dr. Shari Lawson from Hopkins medicine says, “It’s unrealistic to compare yourself to celebrities who have personal trainers and personal chefs.” Even though it’s completely normal to look at magazines or celebrities who bounce back super fast and feel some frustration, what is important, she says, is that you put everything into perspective.

Our bodies are not the same as anyone else’s. And it doesn’t matter how you’ve given birth, how your belly looked during pregnancy or how your belly looks postpartum. We are not the same in any other way so why would we expect our postpartum bodies to look even remotely the same as anyone else’s?

In the comments of the viral TikTok video, it’s clearly evident that people are beyond ready for more authentic content.

“thank you for showing what a REAL postpartum belly looks like! mine looks the same im tired of celebrities showing flat bellies 2 weeks after birth”

“All types of mom bods are BEAUTIFUL 🥰 I love this🫶🏼”

Lestaevel has been receiving praise from hundreds of thousands of moms everywhere! She even did an interview with Buzzfeed.

“I fell into postpartum depression after giving birth, feeling alone. I hadn’t seen anyone with a similar body and didn’t think it was normal to have as much loose skin and stretch marks as I did,” she said.

“It was almost as if my body was foreign to me. It wasn’t mine. I realized that I wasn’t prepared for the bodily changes that occurred after giving birth,” she adds.

Even though she says it was “extremely” difficult to put her postpartum body out there for the whole world to see and comment on, she started receiving positive responses and it made her feel, “honored to be a voice for women and showcase what postpartum can look like.”

“I want people who don’t have children to know that not all bodies are the same and that snapback culture* is extremely toxic, as it puts unrealistic beauty standards and expectations on a high pedestal.”

“It takes a major toll on your body and more discussion needs to be in place that speaks up on these natural changes. Loose skin, stretch marks, sagging breasts, and more.”