Norway: Footballer's Wife Photo of Flat Post-Baby Stomach 'Intimidates' New Mothers

Norwegian footballer's wife Caroline Berg Eriksen has been criticised for posting photographs on Instagram, flaunting a flat stomach just three days after giving birth to a baby girl.

Berg Eriksen, a health and fitness blogger who claims to have to the biggest blog in Norway, posted a selfie on the social networking site in which her enviable washboard abs were on display days after giving birth to Nelia, her daughter with Norwegian premier league footballer Lars-Kristian Eriksen.

She had posted days earlier on Instagram: "I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl yesterday... Her name is Nelia and she is perfect."

But her latest Instagram post - taken in her underwear in front of a mirror - drew criticism from users of the social network, with one branding the image "a joke". Rebecca Foote posted "This is her 4 days after birth in shock haha." Writing in Norway's Dagbladet newspaper one blogger called the images "wildly provocative", and criticised the image for heaping pressure on new mothers to shed weight soon after giving birth.

Mrs Berg Eriksen replied to her critics on Facebook, saying: "I let out the picture because I'm proud of myself and my body for something as tough as a pregnancy / birth, and I think all mothers, regardless of the body should be." She also posted links on her blog to the 4<sup>th Trimester Bodies Project, an online photo documentary dedicated to "embracing the beauty inherent in the changes brought by motherhood, childbirth and breastfeeding".