Ashley Graham shared a photo of herself giving birth and described the moment as the ‘face of my greatest strength’

  • In celebration of International Women's Day on Sunday, Ashley Graham, a body positive model, shared a photo of herself giving birth to her son, Isaac. 
  • Graham described giving birth as the "greatest pain I've ever known and the greatest accomplishment that I've ever achieved."
  • Graham has been praised for her refreshingly honest posts about pregnancy and motherhood, as she's shared images of her stretch marks and a video pumping breast milk.
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Model Ashley Graham celebrated International Women's Day on Sunday by paying tribute to women everywhere, and to the intense strength involved in becoming a mother. 

On Sunday, the "America's Next Top Model" judge shared a visceral image of herself in labor. In the photo, a closeup of Graham's face, the mother of one appears to be in agony. 

"This is the face of my greatest strength," Graham wrote in the caption on Instagram. "The greatest pain I've ever known and the greatest accomplishment that I've ever achieved. On this International Women's Day understand that despite whatever pain or trial we have all experienced as women, we are also strong, powerful and capable of accomplishing greatness."

Since the birth of her son Isaac, in January, Graham has been refreshingly honest on social media about the realities of motherhood. The new mother posted a video pumping breast milk in the car and shared images of her stretch marks, and breastfeeding her son in a cafe.

Ashley Graham's fans and friends appreciated the intimate photo she shared

James Devaney / Contributor / Getty Images

As of Monday afternoon, Graham's post had garnered more than 800,000 likes. Her fans and celebrity friends applauded her candor. 

"This pic made me cry," wrote comedian Amy Schumer, who gave birth to her son, Gene, last May.

Others agreed that Graham aptly captured the meaning behind the powerful image. 

"Such powers we possess such strength ❤️❤️❤️," supermodel and mother of one Helena Christiansen added.

Graham previously shared a video of herself breastfeeding in an Uber

Graham has continued to use her platform to lift the veil on motherhood, and demonstrate every element of the experience — from the intense joys, to the intense pain and stress. 

Last month, Graham shared a video of herself pumping breast milkin an Uber, which underscored just how demanding of a commitment it is. The video has collected more than 5 million views.

"Use[d] to answer emails on my uber rides," the model wrote, "now I pump before my breasts explode."


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