Influencer Anna Victoria is opening up about her “traumatic” labor experience.

The fitness trainer, 32, was thrilled to welcome her first child, daughter Aurora, in August after dealing with years of infertility. And after a low-key pregnancy, Victoria expected a smooth birth. But after 15 hours of contractions and three hours of trying to push and deliver Aurora, doctors determined that Victoria needed to go into the operating room for an unplanned cesarean section.

The experience “was traumatic,” the new mom told Today.

And it affected how Victoria bonded with Aurora. Following the procedure, Victoria didn’t feel the immediate affection for her daughter that she had expected.

“I was coming down from all the medication,” Victoria said. “It took me a week to sort out my emotions. I was definitely very aware that I didn’t feel that super instant, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t imagine my life without my baby.’ I feel that way now, but it took some time.”

Because she didn’t have that instant bond, “a part of me felt like I was a bad person,” Victoria admitted.

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Now four months after giving birth, Victoria and her husband, Luca Ferretti, are happily in love with Aurora. But Victoria wanted to share her experience to support other women dealing with the same struggle.

“I think it’s important to be honest because I know a lot of women go through the same thing," she said.

And in between snuggles with Aurora, Victoria is working on rebuilding her fitness. But the Fit Body app creator has made it clear that she’s not rushing to “bounce back.” She recently shared a photo of her “tummy” at three months postpartum, and was touched by the comments she got from her followers.

“The number of women who replied to these [photos] on my Insta stories and said these pictures made them cry is astonishing,” she wrote on Instagram. “They said they never see ‘influencers’ being real about their postpartum bodies and instead, they just see those who have bounced back.”

Victoria decided to share those photos permanently on her Instagram feed, “so you can revisit this on a day when you might need it,” she said. “Read through the comments of all the women saying ‘me too’ so you know you’re not alone❤️ but most importantly… that your postpartum body is nothing to be ashamed of.”

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