Ashley Graham plans to celebrate the arrival of her first child — a baby boy — next month, but until then, she’s taking a moment to celebrate herself and the changing body her baby has given her.
Over the weekend, the 32-year-old took to Instagram and opened up about the weight gain that’s come with pregnancy, as well as the refreshing perspective she has on it.
“Throughout my pregnancy so far I’ve gained 50lbs,” she wrote. “And the best part is, I don’t care!”
That message accompanied a photo of the model in a yoga pose, wearing leggings and a sports bra, as she bared her baby bump.
“I have never felt better, and I am so thankful that my body and son have allowed me to be as mobile and flexible as I have been,” she continued. “Between working out, yoga, acupuncture and lymphatic massages- I finally feel like I figured out this whole pregnancy thing and how to feel my best.”
The post earned praise from her fans, followers and fellow moms-to-be, but it didn’t surprise any of them. Graham has a well-established reputation for body positivity, and throughout her pregnancy, she’s been outspoken about “getting bigger and bigger” and her goal to always try to embrace her shape.
It’s a topic she’s revisited time and time again in nude selfies and barely covered video clips.
And body acceptance is important topic to her — whether pregnancy related or not. In fact, a month before she announced her pregnancy in August, Graham guest hosted the fourth hour of TODAY alongside Jenna Bush Hager, and explained that she urges photographers not to get carried away with retouches when she works on a shoot, so that she can show her true self.
“I have to have that conversation with photographers all the time,” she said. “I actually go to the monitor and I say to them, ‘You see that dimple right there? Do not retouch it up. Do you see that new, red stretch mark? ... Don’t retouch it.’ It’s important. There’s 14, 15-year-old girls out there who have those new, red stretch marks, and they need to see it."