𝗞𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗶

𝘼𝙜𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 | 30-35

Kirsti’s body has carried her through more than most people ever see. Living with an overactive thyroid and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos, she spent years navigating dislocations, pain, and uncertainty before she even knew the name for what she was living with. She stepped into motherhood through her husband’s daughter, before welcoming their son together.

Kirsti has carried the grief of miscarriage and then deep in the grief of a sibling, was blessed with another pregnancy. It was overwhelming with such a mix of emotions, but that pregnancy is now a living reminder of what her body has created, sustained, and carried through both heartbreak and healing.

She believes in the importance of women caring for themselves after childbirth, she stands in this project as a reminder, to herself and to other mothers, that our bodies are not defined by how they look, but by the incredible things they have done.

𝗬𝗮𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗻

𝘼𝙜𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥| 30-35

Yas is a mum of three. At 21, she experienced a loss at 17 weeks, a moment that came at the “safe stage,” when she had already imagined a future, a name, a life. Hearing that there was no heartbeat, meant facing the unimaginable: birthing and planning a funeral for a child she had only just begun to picture in her world. It changed her, as losses like that always do.

When pregnant again, carrying both hope and reflection, pregnancy didn’t come easily. Across her pregnancies managing, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and the constant feeling that her body was failing her in some way made each journey heavy with worry. Breastfeeding brought its own barriers, and she is deeply grateful for formula, for the choice that protected both her physical and mental health.

In the years since, she has worked hard to shed the negative beliefs she once held about her capabilities as a mother. She has raised her children as a single parent, showing up day after day, even when she felt stretched thin. Recently diagnosed with achalasia and now navigating life with a lifelong condition and an NJ tube, she continues to adapt, to learn, and to keep moving forward.

Over the years, meeting other mothers, hearing their stories, and being held in a space of honesty and connection has opened her up to self appreciation, self compassion, and the understanding that she is doing more than enough. Her children are loved, happy, and safe, and that truth is helping her finally begin to feel the same about herself. And that is where her passion lies for the Mother’s in Bloom project.

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲

𝘼𝙜𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 | 20-25

Charlotte is mummy to one toddler. She reflects on suffering sickness throughout her whole pregnancy, being sick into doggy bags at work, and laughing at how unglamorous the reality can be.

Motherhood, however, brought challenges she didn’t expect. She suffered with postnatal anxiety and received a diagnosis of OCD followed by a year in therapy, learning to understand it, manage it, and speak openly about it. She has become a fierce advocate for pre- and postnatal mental health, unafraid to start the conversations others shy away from. Being Northern Irish, her family are all back home, and a somewhat traumatic birth made this distance feel even heavier.

Her relationship with her body has been one of the hardest parts. Before pregnancy she loved being slim, active, and gym-focused. Now she’s learning to rewire her thinking, to see her “mum bod” not as something to fix but as something powerful.

Being part of Mothers in Bloom is her way to show that beauty doesn’t disappear after birth, it simply changes shape. And she’s ready to stand proudly in her new version of herself.

 

 

 

𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮

𝘼𝙜𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 | 35-40

Elicia is a mother of three. Before motherhood, she spent a long time feeling self-conscious about being very thin. Now, having grown and changed through so many seasons of life, she’s learning to embrace herself exactly as she is.

She and her youngest daughter were both born with a cleft, something that made her deeply aware of how people look, and make assumptions but also taught her compassion, resilience, and the importance of showing up as her whole self.

Being part of Mothers in Bloom is her way of standing in that truth, a reminder to other women that beauty isn’t about fitting a mould or pleasing anyone else. It’s about owning your story, your body, and the journey that shaped you. She hopes other mothers feel seen, accepted, and encouraged to love themselves a little more gently.

𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵-𝗝𝗮𝗻𝗲

𝘼𝙜𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 | 35-40

Sarah-Jane is a mother of three, with children ranging from the teenage years to a busy one-year-old,

and her journey through motherhood has been anything but predictable. While falling pregnant came easily the first two times, her second pregnancy brought a sudden and terrifying turn. In her first trimester she became unwell, and within hours of being admitted to hospital she was rushed into emergency surgery, told her baby would not survive. By what felt like a miracle, surgeons were able to remove an ovary without touching her uterus, but the future of her pregnancy remained uncertain. What followed were months of physical and emotional challenges, each one testing her strength in

ways she had never imagined.

Her first child made her a mother. Her second became her miracle. And her third, who took longer to conceive than she hoped, arrived at exactly the right moment, when her mind, body, and soul were ready to welcome a new beginning. Through all of it, she has learned that motherhood is full of surprises, and that the imperfect often becomes a new, unexpected version of perfect.

Birth has always been empowering for her, a reminder of what her body is capable of. She feels neutral about how she looks now, no longer comparing herself to the woman she was in her early twenties.

Instead, she stands in awe of the body that has grown, birthed, and nourished her babies. The changes she carries are not something to fix, they are evidence of her becoming.

Being part of Mothers in Bloom is her way of honouring that truth: that motherhood reshapes us, that our bodies tell stories of strength, and that there is beauty in every version of ourselves along the way.

𝗟𝘆𝗱𝗶𝗮

𝘼𝙜𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 | 30-35

Lydia’s journey into motherhood began in a place she never expected, with as many hospital corridors as quiet newborn moments. Both she and her only daughter were unwell in those early weeks. Repeated bouts of mastitis on one side made her breastfeeding hopes feel almost impossible, she expressed and bottle-fed with sheer determination. Eventually reestablishing latch, and now almost 12months on, having made the brave decision to use only one breast, is still breastfeeding her daughter. The physical changes that followed have been hard to face at times, a daily reminder of a battle she never saw coming, but they’ve also become a symbol of everything she has survived. This journey took its toll mentally as well as physically, something entirely new to Lydia, postnatal depression has been yet another weight to navigate while still showing up for her daughter every day.

While still healing and still learning to trust her body again…she is proud, proud of her strength, persistence, and the mother she has become through it all. Being part of Mothers in Bloom is her way of honouring that journey. She wants other women to know that their bodies tell stories of courage, not imperfection.