Celebrities spend a lot of time and money to look polished at all times. They hire stylists, assistants, and makeup artists to create an illusion of perfection. The average woman may compare themselves to Hollywood ladies and struggle with their own insecurities. Yet, there is one thing that can unite all women. Pregnancy does crazy things to the female body and every pregnant woman reaches a point where they look like they are about to pop.

It’s comforting to see these celebrities in full bloom. They deal with stretch marks, weight gain, and a swelling baby bump, just like the rest of us. These ladies have food cravings and many of them use pregnancy as a time to release Hollywood’s ideals and let themselves enjoy food for once. Some of these stars are criticized for their weight gain.

Yet, many of these mamas use their voices to combat the unrealistic expectations put on women to bounce back after giving birth. It’s inspiring to hear these celebrities admit their struggles with losing the baby weight or how they handle the pressure to look perfect. Please enjoy this list of 20 of our favorite celebrities looking like they’re about to pop.

20 Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson is the mom to her two kids, Maxwell and Ace. She came under fire during both of her pregnancies for her weight gain. Here we have a photograph taken when she was expecting her daughter and Jessica even admitted to being a bit too indulgent with her food choices.

“I let myself indulge in everything I wanted because it was the first time I was ever pregnant, and I wanted to enjoy it,” Simpson told USA Today. “I wanted to be happy and eat what I wanted.” It’s actually comforting to know that even celebrities put on baby weight.

19 Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner has three kiddos with her ex-husband, Ben Affleck. The actress was photographed often during her three pregnancies with Violet, Seraphina, and Samual. This pic captured in 2012 shows a very pregnant Jennifer out grocery shopping in Brentwood, California.

She spoke with InStyle about the challenges of watching what she ate while she was expecting. “I wish I was one of those cute pregnant girls who wear skinny jeans throughout their pregnancies,” she revealed. “But I just gain weight. I’m trying really hard to be mindful, but when I’m making the kids mac and cheese, I want it badly.”

18 Alyson Hannigan

Many of us know Alison Hanigan from the television series, How I Met Your Mother. She also happens to be a mom in real life to her two daughters, Keeva and Satyana. This photograph captured Hanigan at the end of her second pregnancy.

When asked if she stressed out about losing all the baby weight, she told Yahoo News that she wasn’t too concerned about bouncing back quickly after giving birth. “It’s the last thing we should be focused on.” Hanigan admitted, “It’s amazing what your body does to produce another human…you should thank your body for what it does.”

17 Olivia Wilde

Olivia Wilde is a mama to her two kiddos, Otis and Daisy. She’s known for publishing honest posts about motherhood on Instagram and has proven that she is one down-to-earth mom. Even in the throes of pregnancy, she looks like one of us.

The totally relatable actress was the cover girl for Shape Magazine and discussed the aftermath of two pregnancies on her body. "The photos of me in this magazine have been generously constructed to show my best angles, and I assure you, good lighting has been warmly embraced. The truth is, I'm a mother, and I look like one."

16 Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore is a mother of two daughters, Olive and Frankie. According to US Weekly, Barrymore addressed her pregnancy weight gain when she was a guest on The Ellen Show. "My doctor the other day was like, 'Yeah, so I think maybe pull back a little bit.' I was like, 'Really?'" she shared.

Although, she didn’t agree with her doctor’s assessment. "I still fit into those jeans. I mean, they hurt when I wear them, but I'm still in them…I just want to enjoy the pasta right now. It's not like it's going to look that much different! What's 10 pounds?"

15 Ashlee Simpson

Ashlee Simpson has two children, Bronx and Jagger. She famously gained 50 pounds during her first pregnancy and looks like she is about to pop with her second in this photograph. According to the folks at NBC New York, Ashlee took to her MySpace blog to address rumors that she was depressed about her pregnancy weight gain.

“I am only concerned with having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby,” Ashlee wrote. “Carrying a child is the most inspiring, emotional, amazing experience of my life. My weight and my pant size are the absolute last thing I am concerned about,” she added.

14 Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian is mom to her three little ones, North, Saint, and Chicago. She gained a significant amount of weight while pregnant with her second child and even suffered from preeclampsia. Her poor, swollen feet look like they are totally in pain in this photograph.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star took to Instagram and commented about her pregnancy weight and the pressure to bounce back right away. “A few weeks to go and 60 pounds up! I look at other celebrities and Instagram girls who are literally so skinny right after giving birth. How is that possible?!?!” she wrote.

13 Blake Lively

Blake Lively is mom to her two daughters, James and Inez. She gained 61 pounds during her second pregnancy and underwent a serious weight loss regime in preparation for her role in the film, The Shallows.

“I’ve never been in that great a shape in my whole life,” she told People Magazine. “So to do it after having a kid was actually really nice. Because you see your body after having a kid and it’s beautiful because you just gave birth, but it’s also ‘Oh my god, this is not what my body looks like.’ You feel like you’re never going to get your body back again.”

12 Vanessa Lachey

Vanessa Lachey is mama to her children, Camden, Brooklyn, and Phoenix. She knows how to rock a glamorous pregnancy but even she put on baby weight. The actress is more concerned with happiness than worrying about losing the baby weight.

"I gained, I think, 65 pounds when I was pregnant," Lachey revealed in an interview with HuffPost Live. "And I will say to moms out there, 'Don't stress about losing it. It will happen when it happens.' Cam's 9 months, so it's been a minute, and we're working, and we're traveling, and it's just about maintaining a happy, healthy lifestyle, not obsessing about it."

11 P!nk

Pink has two kids, with her husband, Cory Hart. The pop diva is well-known for her fit physique but has admitted often that she struggled with pregnancy weight gain while she was expecting both of her children. She took to Instagram to shine a light on the importance of body positivity and Hollywood’s unrealistic expectations when it comes to post-baby bodies.

"Would you believe I'm 160 pounds and 5'3"?" she captioned the selfie. "By 'regular standards' that makes me obese. I know I'm not at my goal or anywhere near it after Baby 2 but dammit I don't feel obese."

10 Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian has three little ones, Mason, Penelope, and Reign. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star may look amazing in her Instagram photos these days but even she put on significant pregnancy weight when she was pregnant with her daughter.

Kourtney spoke with US WEEKLY about how much baby weight she gained while expecting and her strategy for losing those extra pounds. "I gained nearly 45 pounds. I'm 5 feet tall, so that's a lot," Kourtney said. Yet she had a plan to get back in shape. "While I'm here around the house, I just eat healthy." she shared.

9 Busy Phillips

Busy Phillips has two girls, Birdie and Cricket. She is another actress that posts down-to-earth photos about motherhood on Instagram. This photograph shows her looking very pregnant with her second child but she spoke to Huffington Post about her thoughts on shedding the baby weight.

“I do think moms should be given a break, all across the board. And I think that the most important thing is that you’re healthy.” she continued. “After I had my little girl, I wanted to be healthy for her and have a healthy body image so that she hopefully grows up to see that her self-worth isn’t defined by how thin she is.”

8 Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson is mom to two boys, Ryder and Bing. As I’m writing this, she is about to give birth to her first daughter any day now. She was often criticized for packing on the pounds during her pregnancies.

“Even my doctor was like, ‘You know, you should try not to eat so much,’ ” she told PEOPLE. “And then after I had Ryder, that was when it sort of hit me … and then, trying to lose the weight and being in that year of my life was really interesting, ’cause then all of a sudden you have the baby and then all of a sudden you’re 70 lbs. overweight.”

7 Isla Fisher

Isla Fisher is mom to her three children, Elula, Olive, and Montgomery. The fiery redhead admitted that although she gained 65 pounds with her first baby and 70 with her second, she would rather put her focus on being happy than worrying about having the perfect body.

“You can look in the mirror and find a million things wrong with yourself, or, you can look in the mirror and think, ‘I feel good, I have my health, and I’m so blessed.’ That’s the way I choose to look at it. I don’t need to be perfect,” she told FITNESS magazine.

6 Jessica Beil

Jessica Biel is mom to Silas with her husband, Justin Timberlake. She manages to somehow still look stunning in this pic, despite being heavy with child. According to YAHOO, she discussed her thoughts on losing the baby weight during the 2018 Makers Conference.

“This idea of ‘I need to lose weight as fast as I possibly can and be skinny again and look fabulous again,’ and there’s so much pressure from outside and it’s kind of like this mom competition to see how fast you can be skinny and it’s actually the worst possible thing you can do to produce a future baby,” she said.

5 Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff is mom to her son Luca. The former Disney star is currently pregnant with her second child but admitted that she allowed herself to enjoy food while she was pregnant with her son. According to DAILYMAIL, she spoke with Bethany Frankel about her eating habits during pregnancy.

'My whole life I’ve worked out and exercised and been in the public eye and always kind of watched what I ate. And this was like a free pass and it was a blast,' Hilary said, 'But I had fun. I wouldn’t go back and change it because I had a lot of fun.'

4 Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway is mom to her little boy, Jonathon. She proved just how down-to-earth she really is when she took to Instagram to discuss the shame associated with pregnancy weight gain.

“There is no shame in gaining weight during pregnancy (or ever). There is no shame if it takes longer than you think it will to lose the weight (if you want to lose it at all),” Anne posted. “There is no shame in finally breaking down and making your own jean shorts because last summer's are just too dang short for this summer's thighs.”

3 Kristin Bell

Kristin Bell is mom of two daughters, Lincoln and Delta. The actress gained 45 pounds with each pregnancy but is pretty much over talking about baby weight. She spoke with ELLE about the importance of having fun in motherhood instead of worrying.

"Maybe because I've been through it twice, I find the 'baby weight' conversation to be a very stale topic," she told ELLE.com. "Who really cares? Just be healthy, don't beat yourself up, and have fun with your kid. The only way pressure is lifted is if we choose not to accept it any longer. I think that's what I did."

2 Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera has to kids, Summer and Max. The pop diva has been known to struggle with her weight but she spoke with Women’s Health about the unrealistic expectations put on mothers, especially when it comes to bouncing back after giving birth.

“Mothers are constantly expected to be the nurturers, the givers, the providers of a comfortable home,” she told WH. “We’re expected to be pregnant, have the kids, breastfeed once we have the babies. And we’re expected to look amazing after baby, right?" she continued. "Having children is the ultimate joy, and I love my kids, but women have to find time to nurture themselves.”

1 Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba is a mom to three kids, Honor, Haven, and Hayes. She has openly admitted to feeling like she put on too much weight during her first pregnancy. According to REDBOOK, Jessica spoke with Jimmy Fallon about her cravings.

"I didn’t think I was craving anything until I realized I’m craving Japanese food all the time,” Alba told Fallon. “I actually dream about desserts, but I’m actually trying not to gain so much weight with this baby, so I just dream about them. I want all the shaved ice with like ice cream on the bottom. That’s like my thing."

References: Usatoday.com, Instyle.com, Yahoo.com, Shape.com, Usmagazine.com, Nbcnewyork.com, Instagram.com, People.com, Usmagazine.com, Huffingtonpost.com, Alloy.com, Dailymail.co.uk, Elle.com, Womenshealthmag.com, Redbookmag.com