Plus-size model Ashley Graham is shown breastfeeding her infant son Isaac in her first photoshoot since she gave birth in January.
The portrait, shot by Ashley’s husband, Justin Ervin for U.K.’s Harper’s Bazaar magazine, shows the stunning model dressed in a white shirt while standing outdoors in her home state of Nebraska.
She looks ahead with a faint smile on her face as she holds her baby in her arms.
Ashley Graham struggled with the physical changes of pregnancy
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Ashley, 32, revealed that despite having focussed her modeling career on promoting body positivity, she struggled to adjust to the physical changes that she experienced after she became pregnant.
She said that at a point in her struggle, she wondered what had become of the message of body positivity that her modeling career was all about.
“I thought, ‘What about the things I’ve told myself? What about the affirmations I’ve gone through?’ None of these mattered because my body was changing so rapidly. It really took me some time to figure it out mentally, because it was like there was an alien taking over my body.”
Ashley’s struggles gave way to the joys of motherhood
Ashley said she forgot about her struggles with the physical changes of pregnancy after she gave birth to her son. She was so overwhelmed by the joy of motherhood that her feelings changed.
“I was so excited. I knew immediately I was going to be a great mum.”
Ashley recalled what happened when she went into labor. She was alone, and her husband Justin felt helpless, knowing there was little he could do to help while she was in labor.
“Justin wanted to be as helpful as possible, and the midwife told him: there’s nothing you can do, nothing!” she said. “I was in the pool, and I looked over to see him in the kitchen cutting up meat and adding seasoning because it was all he could do…”
She acknowledged the role of the midwives, saying that if it hadn’t been for them, her experience of childbirth would have been very different.
Graham is a plus-size model who was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD as a child.
She signed with Wilhelmina Model and later Ford Models after her professional career began in the early 2000s.
Ashley has appeared on the covers of international magazines, such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour. She has modeled for international designers, such as Christian Siriano, Dolce and Gabbana, and Tommy Hilfiger.
She has also featured in ads for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She was the first size 14 model to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
She is known as an advocate for body positivity.
Ashley Graham met Justin Ervin in 2009, and they got married shortly afterward. She gave birth to her baby, Isaac, in January 2020.