Getting up countless times in the night. Washing and drying your third load of clothes for the day. Tying your unwashed hair into a bun. Napping when you can. Crying. Smiling at their first smile. Staring into their eyes and feeling pure joy. Showering, finally. Drinking a cold cup of coffee. Trying to make it out of the house, without falling to pieces. Feeling isolated and overwhelmed. Stepping into the fresh air to take deep breaths when you can.
We are here to remind you that you’re doing your best and that you are a Warrior.
Cake Maternity are on a mission to set the standard of embracing and showing the realities of every moment in motherhood. With a no photoshopping policy that has been in place for years, Cake Maternity are taking it a step further by committing to show and share real stories and images of mums in their most raw and vulnerable moments, to help remove any stigma and encourage open sharing of the hard times, just as much as the good.
The campaign aptly titled “We see you, Warrior”, embraces and acknowledges all mums, without judgment, and encourages women to share an unfiltered moment as a mum on Instagram to build a community of supportive women.
Tracey Montford founded Cake Maternity 18 years ago, and in that time has seen the rise and effect that social media has had on herself and her customers. “I started Cake Maternity when I became a mum, but the landscape has changed so much since then. We all spend so much time on social media which, as a new, sleep deprived mum, can be extremely problematic. Instagram, in particular, has become a ‘highlights’ reel of all the best parts of being a mum. Rarely do we show the challenges.” “It becomes easy to fall into a trap of comparing yourself with others when you’re up at 3am scrolling, whilst settling or feeding your baby”, says Tracey.
With the purpose of helping women feel good, Cake Maternity have built a community of women who feel comfortable shopping with them for maternity bras and clothing, which can be an overwhelming task. After listening to how their customers were feeling about social media in general, Tracey decided to look at how they could help deliver on their purpose further. “Women are tired of seeing filters and happy-go-lucky mums holding serene babies in their arms. It still has a place, we just want to make the split more even,” says Tracey.
Cake Maternity have teamed up with iconic Australian birth photographer Dania Lauren (@laurenanddouglas.birth) to capture mums in their most intimate moments through birth, loss, breastfeeding, pumping and chaos, in the hopes of reminding them they are all Warriors.
Tracey says, “No matter what their story looks like, we want to remind mums that they are doing their best, which is incredible”.
