The last thing on Porsha Williams‘ mind is bending to societal expectations about her body after baby.
The new mom, 37, gave birth to daughter Pilar Jhena — her first child with fiancé Dennis McKinley — on March 22, and tells PEOPLE that she’s in no rush to take a non-organic approach to bouncing back physically.
“I’ve done the opposite of what people do when they get shamed online. They hide because you shame them,” Williams says. “I actually post pictures with fitting clothes, still showing my postpartum body. I’m proud of it. I’m going to bounce back naturally, and I’m not going to stress myself.”
“I think for anyone who just gave birth and is trying to get used to her brand-new body, it’s difficult, right?” she adds. “And you wouldn’t want anybody to add to how stressful [new parenthood is] and how you mentally think about yourself. You don’t want them to add to the stress of that.”
Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Parents newsletter.
Porsha Williams Opens Up About Her “Difficult” Delivery, Breastfeeding Troubles and Her “Diva” Daughter
Since welcoming her baby girl, life has “been really really good” — but there was some chaos leading up to Pilar’s arrival. Much of that was captured on Williams’ new three-episode spinoff series, The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Porsha’s Having a Baby, which premiered on Sunday.
In the trailer alone, there were tensions with McKinley over their living situation and a heated battle between his and Williams’ mothers. The special also documents Pilar’s birth — which looked blissful but was anything but.
Williams delivered her baby girl a week before her due date, via cesarean section. As she recalls of the experience to PEOPLE, “A lot of people think that C-sections are easy — an easier way to give birth. But I assure you, it is full, serious surgery. It was difficult!”
“Even recovery — healing from the cut and taking care of a newborn while being on pain medication and dealing with your body’s shock of having just had a baby,” Williams adds. “I’m doing pretty good now, but it was just a lot.”
Despite the bumps along the way, all is well now with “Baby PJ,” who is a “happy and healthy” little girl, according to her mama. “She’s everything I ever wanted,” Williams tells PEOPLE. “I still can’t believe she’s here.”
She’s soaking up the time, too. “I’ll be going back to work at Dish Nation at the end of June,” the reality star explains, before turning her gratitude to the fans.
“I have to say, a lot of people, they give you support from afar. And I appreciate it all, I really do,” Williams says. “It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to encourage the mom. So I appreciate the support, I really do.”
The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Porsha’s Having a Baby airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
Source: Read Full Article