Chontel Duncan rose to online fame by being the woman with the “world’s greatest pregnancy abs”. Many were in disbelief when she posted a photo of her friend, who was also expecting.
This challenged what most people perceive as typical baby bumps.
I was surprised with a cute visit today from a friend Nat who is also expecting ????Just being able to see someone in the… Posted by Chontel on Friday, November 13, 2015
Five months later, she gave birth to Jeremiah at 39 weeks and two days; he weighed a healthy 3.5 kilos. Now, the new mum is eager to flaunt her fit post-pregnancy body.
In the photo, Chontel is holding her baby boy close to her chest. She writes in the caption: “Today little Miah is 13 days old & my c-section incision is healing nicely. It’s larger than a normal one due to the doctors struggling to get Miah out at the time of my operation where my core held him in very tightly. Scar, stretch marks, wider hips, heavy “not so perky” jugs WHO CARES I have a baby & though I was very lucky to not have many of those I did receive a large scar which I am very proud of.”
But what she wasn’t expecting was the backlash that followed her instagram post.
Back-seat parents started to criticise her parenting skills. They condemned the way she was holding the weeks old infant and some gave advise on how to hold properly.
“Omg that babys poor neck. Hold ur child properly! More important than a selfie,” commented @__alexandria_.
“I’m sorry but hold ur child head, like actually hold it!!” added @carrie.killeen. “What scar? What stretch marks? Don’t complain about something while flaunting a flat stomach. Most women truly experience a change in their body after childbirth – you have nothing to comment on,” added @joc_mcleod.
“There is no way that was a 7lb baby. It’s tiny,” added instagram user: @laurellei.
But Chontel wasn’t about to let these slide.
“If you honestly don’t like my page just click unfollow,” she responded.
She then posted another photo of her holding her son. But this time it had two photos side by side to prove that the head lift caught on camera was only momentary.
“Reposting this due to the number of dumb dumbs ripping on my first image,” Chontel wrote. “Sorry but I’m not going to be nice about what I think about your belittling attempts to educate me on the safety or better yet my intentions as a new mum.”
Her 478,000 followers on Instagram were witness to her pregnancy journey, including her anticipation and fears about parenthood.
Throughout it all, she has remained positive and is continuing to inspire her followers to do the same, even if she has to deal with negativity along the way.
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