Ashley Graham Reveals Intimate, Painful Labor Photo for International Women’s Day

Ashley Graham celebrated International Women’s Day on Sunday by posting a very special photo of herself on Instagram. On Sunday, the model posted a photo of herself from when she was in labor with her first child back in January. The Pretty Big Deal podcast host noted that she wanted to post the snap in order to showcase a moment of her “greatest strength” on the special, worldwide occasion.

“This is the face of my greatest strength. The greatest pain I’ve ever known and the greatest accomplishment that I’ve ever achieved,” Graham captioned the photo. “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. Happy International Women’s Day! Let’s all celebrate our, and each other’s strengths today.”

Graham’s post comes a couple of months after she gave birth to her first child, a son named Isaac, with her husband, Justin Ervin.

In early February, Graham recounted her birthing experience on her podcast, Pretty Big Deal, in a conversation with her husband. At the time, she also revealed her son’s full name, Isaac Menelik Giovanni Ervin.

“Couldn’t hold back my tears on today’s @prettybigdealpod episode,” Graham wrote on Feb. 4. “Nothing prepares you for just how magical and intense giving birth is; I’m so grateful that I was able to deliver naturally in my home with my husband by my side for all 6 hours of labor. Holding my baby for the first time is a moment I’ll never forget. Such a special moment in my life deserved a BIG announcement!”

In the special podcast episode, Graham described what it felt like to experience giving birth and her comments tie back to her recent, powerful International Women’s Day Instagram message.

“Now, I have to say now though that I gave birth and I did it naturally and I felt everything, I feel like there’s nothing I can’t do. Like, there’s nothing that could come way where I say, ‘Oh, that’s too hard I can’t handle that.’ I went through laboring for six hours, naturally,” the model recounted on the podcast.

Graham and Ervin previously announced that they were set to become parents in August 2019 with a lovely post that acknowledged their ninth wedding anniversary.