Mothers who proudly showed off their postpartum bodies to inspire other women are told to diet and accused of 'glorifying' women who 'choose' not to lose weight

A group of friends who received a barrage of hate messages after posting a photograph showing off their postpartum bodies have issued a powerful response to their trolls.

Bethanie Garcia, from Arizona, had been talking to her Katie, Meg, Desiree every day for a year online before meeting at a blogging conference last week.

Deciding to take a 'postpartum photo' for their audiences on Instagram, the proud mothers were keen to show off their diverse body types and captioned the post: 'Just a reminder from a few of my favorite powerful women on the internet.'

The photo was shared on fifteen Instagram accounts, but with that came the hateful comments - so the group decided to write an empowering response.

Bethanie Garcia, from Arizona, and her friends Katie, Meg, Desiree (pictured), received a barrage of hate messages after uploading a 'postpartum photo' for their audiences on Instagram

The inspirational women were keen to show off their diverse body types and while the photo was shared on fifteen Instagram accounts, not all of the responses were positive

Bethanie and Katie (pictured ) have collaborated with the other women on six projects - ranging from body image to mental health - in a bid to get their message out there

After posting a defiant message in response to the haters on Facebook, the friends were praised by women across the globe. 'This is beautiful and I'm glad to see women unpologetically loving themselves,' wrote one

The initial idea for the photo came about after Bethanie's friend Meg started a hashtag called #this_is_postpartum, to showcase how postpartum looks different for every single woman.

'She asked Katie, Desiree and I to help her with it and since then, we’ve collaborated on six plus projects together - ranging from body image to mental health,' explained Bethanie.

'Our hope in taking the photo was that it would reach women who didn’t feel that their body types were represented in media. If it helped even ONE woman, we would be grateful and happy. And it did.'

However, the group received over 2,000 messages and comments filled with hate. 'Is this an advertisement for why women should get tummy tucks?' wrote one, while another penned 'how about dieting?'

Speaking of their aim in taking the photo, Bethanie explained: 'Our hope in taking the photo was that it would reach women who didn’t feel that their body types were represented in media. If it helped even ONE woman, we would be grateful and happy. And it did'

Bethanie and Katie (pictured) are keen to get their message out that body types are diverse and are all beautiful in their own ways

The mothers received several hateful messages, including one who penned: 'Nothing wrong with a one piece bathing suit- just saying'

A third said: 'Why aren’t there any fit women in this photo? Not every postpartum body is fat and loose,' while a further wrote: 'Photos like this tear women apart.'

Taking to Facebook in retaliation, the inspirational women reiterated a few of the nasty comments they'd received and penned:

'What's ever louder than all the haters and trolls, is the women who have said "finally, a body that looks like mine" or "this photo saved me" or "I struggle with my body image and this made me feel so much less alone." Those comments are messages make it all worth it!'

And their post of defiance was praised by thousands of ladies across the globe, who thanked the friends for their honesty.

Many women praised the group for their honesty. One wrote: 'Thanks for your bravery and compassion, lovely people in the photo. You are helping to make the world a better place'

'Thanks for your bravery and compassion, lovely people in the photo,' wrote one. 'You are helping to make the world a better place.'

A second highlighted the importance of the message being portrayed and commented: 'This needs to be seen. These bodies are all so different and the only thing I could see improving is for a campaign done similar to this that shows women of different races celebrating their postpartum body.

Meanwhile, others praised the women for helping to boost their own body confidence following the birth of their own babies.

'This gives me the confidence to show my post baby bod instead of wanting to hide it,' commented one, while another said: 'I look similar to the two women on the left. Some where in the middle, more like the first though. I love this.'

A third wrote: 'Gosh this picture just makes me want to burst out crying...happy tears. Thanks for representing the real mothers. I love this so much.'

One woman admitted she was reduced to happy tears after seeing the photo: 'Gosh this picture just makes me want to burst out crying...happy tears. Thanks for representing the real mothers. I love this so much,' she wrote