They’re just awful and insulting to “real” moms.

Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett is the latest in a long string of celebrities (Heidi, Gisele, Nicole, Rebecca)  featured on a magazine cover shortly after giving birth. In this case, the  former “girl next door” is splashed on the cover of OK! Magazine 8 weeks after delivering via c-section.

It is hard to believe that a woman who gained 55 pounds and who did not give birth vaginally could be back in a bikini so quickly. As a mother of an 11-month-old son that was delivered via c-section, I speak from personal experience. I was unable to work out for at least 6 weeks (doctor’s orders) and I did not feel able to do so until month 3.Yet, Hefner’s former “girlfriend” is pictured in a string bikini, posing with her babe, 2 months later.

I scrutinized the photos and they appear to be heavily photoshopped. The former reality star’s head and neck don’t seem to match the torso below. Look closely.

What aggravates me about these post-baby bodies that often appear on covers mere weeks, if not days, after delivery is the anxiety they cause in everyday, mortal women. Labor, birthing, the possibility of recovering from a surgical birth and the care of a hungry newborn are overwhelming. The pressure to be bikini ready is an unnecessary and insane preoccupation for a postnatal mom.

We’re bombarded with unrealistic and unattainable images incessantly as it is. To target new mothers, exacerbate insecurities that surely already exist and make women feel guilty for not losing the weight quickly enough is inexcusable. The fact that I’ve blogged about this issue multiple times is disgraceful. I hope this will be the last time.

I doubt it.

In this week’s Us Magazine, we have yet ANOTHER story of success: a new mother of twins sheds all her baby weight after a mere 11 weeks.  How did she do it, you ask?  Oh, ya know, it’s just an illusion created by a “good dress.” Oh, and by receiving deliveries of assorted Asian fruit and vegetables, mussels, crabs and prawns.  No exercise, though.  Nope.  Just good genes and the usual claim: breast feeding! Salma Hayek spoke out against this myth. As she said to Oprah, “The only way women lose weight this way is by not eating AND breast feeding…and this is bad for the baby.”  Amen, sister.

The emphasis on unhealthy, often deadly, thinness is bad enough but to add that same pressure on pregnant women and new mothers moments after delivery is ludicrous! This signals an unhealthy and potentially dangerous trend by creating unrealistic expectations for ordinary women that don’t have the time of the means to devote their all of their energy to weight loss. Not to mention, even with the time and money, baby weight gain is not designed to fall off immediately.  No matter who you are (Nicole, Angelina, Jessica, Katie).

Bump watch has taken over the tabloids in a furious and obsessive way over the last few years and includes the intense scrutiny and public commentary on how much weight pregnant celebrities gained and how much they lost soon after birth.  Salma Hayek was absolutely chastised for not losing her pregnancy weight immediately after her daughter was born. which is one of the reasons she chose to publically address this craze on national television.